Amy Klobuchar on Energy & Oil DFL Sr Senator (MN); Democratic presidential contender

Fracking is ok as a transitional fuel

KLOBUCHAR: I have made it very clear that we have to review all of the permits that are out there right now for natural gas and then make decisions on each one of them and then not grant new ones until we make sure that it's safe. But it is a transitional fuel.

Money from energy savings should go back to working class

Reverse Trump climate rollbacks and put a price on carbon

Show how investment in climate change will benefit Midwest

Our mission: solve climate crisis, without harming economy

KLOBUCHAR: The timing is to make this our mission, like landing on the moon, or the Civil Rights movement where our country came together and said we're going to solve something. And when do you that, you get the new technology and the new results. I was being honest, I don't think we can phase it out in a few years. To me that's like 2 or 3 or 4 years. Right? You have to do it over a period of time, you have to be aware of where people are working and how are you going to do this in a way that keeps our economy going and keeps our economy strong. There is an old Ojibway saying that "great leaders should make decisions not for this generation but for seven generations from now." [We should] put that money into R&D and work with the private sector, perfect the storage for energy, the sooner we can do this, the better.

No all-out ban on fracking; we need a transition

KLOBUCHAR: Because I see natural gas as a transitional fuel. It is better than oil, but it's not nearly as good as wind and solar. However, you have situations where you have dangerous fracking that shouldn't be happening. So as president in my first 100 days, I will review every fracking permit there is and decide which ones should be allowed to be continued and which ones are too dangerous. Then you go from there. And as you put a price on carbon, you will see less of this going on--because once you put rules of the road in place, it's going to become less economically feasible for that kind of fuel. I remember only a few years ago we were celebrating work of the Obama administration for natural gas-fueled buses. Why? It was better than the old kind of buses. So you have to see this as a transition as we move ahead to a better and cleaner environment.

Carbon neutral is goal; nuclear/coal during transition

A: We have to go to carbon neutral by no later than 2050. With nuclear I would look at all the plants we have right now. It is about 20% of our energy and it doesn't emit carbon. I would look at those plants and make sure they're safe and figure out what upgrades we have to make, but I wouldn't expand nuclear unless we can find safe storage. I wouldn't allow for building of new coal plants. What we're as we phase out coal plants is how we can make them better for the environment.

Q: How do we get to carbon neutrality?

A: Being part of the international climate change agreement again, to have some clout and leverage with our allies will make a big difference. The thing which is really exciting is putting incentives out there for farmers to do things that will reduce CO2 in the atmosphere. That's things like planting winter cover crops. As president I would expand it greatly.

Energy efficiency is low-hanging fruit

KLOBUCHAR: The former Energy Secretary always referred to energy efficiency as a low-hanging fruit. Putting really strict building standards in place to make these buildings as energy efficient as possible to reduce our carbon. Moving to electric cars and trucks. To do that of course, we need the grid and that's why my infrastructure plan is so focused on green infrastructure. There are numerous examples of what we can be doing to make energy efficiency, which I agree is this low-hanging fruit. You know why it's popular with the public? Whether it's increasing the gas mileage standards and then eventually moving to electric cars, or the building standards, or the appliance standards--it's popular because if people save money they really like

Would rejoin climate pact & propose new legislation

Open to carbon tax, but without increased prices

Her campaign didn't answer this question, but Ms. Klobuchar said at a CNN town hall-style event: "I will, as first day as the president, sign us back into the international climate change agreement. That is on Day 1."

Q: Do you support a federal carbon tax? If so, at what price per ton, and how do you envision the proceeds being used?

Ms. Klobuchar's campaign said she was open to a carbon tax but would not support one that increased prices for lower- and middle-income Americans. It did not provide an on-the-record quote.

Q: Would you restore Obama-era climate change regulations that the Trump administration has reversed, like the Clean Power Plan, methane limits and vehicle emissions standards?

Ms. Klobuchar's campaign confirmed that she would restore the Clean Power Plan and gas mileage standards, but did not provide an on-the-record quote.

Green New Deal is aspirational; don't over-promise

On climate change, Klobuchar said she believes that "we can get close" to the Green New Deal, but that she doesn't "think we're going to get rid of entire industries in the U.S."

"We need to get this debate going, and this is put out there as an aspiration in that something we need to move toward," she said. "Do I think we can cross every 'T' and dot every 'I' in 10 years? Actually, I think that would be very difficult to do."

She also looked ahead to the potential legislation, acknowledging that "there are going to be compromises" and "it's not going to look exactly like that," she said.

Green New Deal opens discussion on climate change

I will, as first day as the president, sign us back into the international climate change agreement. I will also bring back the clean power rules that the Trump administration left on the cutting room floor. I will also bring back the gas mileage standards and then propose sweeping legislation to upgrade our infrastructure.

Rejoin Paris climate deal; meet UN goals

• Climate change: Set goals for cutting greenhouse emissions and rejoin Paris climate deal.
• Klobuchar wants to meet the goals of the U.N. panel on climate change: cut greenhouse gases by 45 percent by 2030, and increase renewable energy by up to 47 percent by 2050.
• She has not given specifics recently on how she would achieve those goals.
• But in 2008, Klobuchar pushed for a bill to cut emissions 70 percent by the year 2050 via a cap-and-trade market system.
• Klobuchar would also rejoin the Paris accord and push to set national guidelines to boost renewable fuel use.

2007: increased gas-mileage standards

Invest in homegrown, renewable energy sources

Gas gouging penalty against oil companies

National strategy to address global warming

Sign on to UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

• Whereas there is a scientific consensus that the continued buildup of anthropogenic greenhouse gases in the atmosphere threatens the stability of the global climate;
• Whereas there are significant long-term risks to the economy and the environment of the US from the temperature increases and climatic disruptions that are projected to result from increased greenhouse gas concentrations;
• Whereas the US has the largest economy in the world and is also the largest emitter of greenhouse gases;
• Whereas reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the levels necessary to avoid serious climatic disruption requires the introduction of new energy technologies and other climate-friendly technologies;
• Whereas the development and sale of climate-friendly technologies in the US and internationally present economic opportunities for workers and businesses in the United States;
• Whereas President Bush, in the State of the Union Address given in January 2006, called on the US to reduce its `addiction` to oil and focus its attention on developing cleaner, renewable, and sustainable energy sources;
• Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the United States should act to reduce the health, environmental, economic, and national security risks posed by global climate change and foster sustained economic growth through a new generation of technologies
• by participating in negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and leading efforts in other international fora,
• with the objective of securing United States participation in binding agreements that establish mitigation commitments by all countries that are major emitters of greenhouse gases;
• establish flexible international mechanisms to minimize the cost of efforts by participating countries; and
• achieve a significant long-term reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions.

50% clean and carbon free electricity by 2030.

Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should establish a national goal of more than 50 percent clean and carbon free electricity by 2030 for the purposes of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change, growing our economy, increasing our shared prosperity, improving public health, and preserving our national security.

• Whereas failing to act on climate change will have a devastating impact on our Nation`s economy, costing us billions of dollars in lost GDP;
• Whereas extreme weather, intensified by climate change, has already cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year in recovery efforts, and this will only continue if climate change is left unaddressed;
• Whereas climate change will have devastating public health implications, including increased asthma attacks and exacerbation of other respiratory diseases, especially in vulnerable populations;
• Whereas inaction on climate change will disproportionately impact communities of color and exacerbate existing economic inequalities;
• Whereas the transition to a clean energy economy is feasible with existing technology;
• Whereas the transition to clean energy will create millions of jobs and will increase our country`s GDP and increase disposable household income;

1. Establish a national goal of more than 50 percent clean and carbon free electricity by 2030; and
2. Enact legislation to accelerate the transition to clean energy to meet this goal.

Green New Deal: 10-year national mobilization.

This resolution calls for the creation of a Green New Deal with the goals of:

• achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions;
• establishing millions of high-wage jobs and ensuring economic security for all;
• investing in infrastructure and industry;
• securing clean air and water, climate and community resiliency, healthy food, access to nature, and a sustainable environment for all; and
• promoting justice and equality.