On Tuesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren unveiled a climate change plan that calls for $3 trillion in funding to address global warming. The proposal came hours before Senator Kamala Harris’ on Wednesday released her $10 trillion climate plan that would punish polluters.
“Climate change is an existential threat to our species, and the United States must lead the world with bold action to safeguard our future and protect our planet,” Harris said in a statement outlining her proposal.
“The Trump administration is pushing science fiction, not science fact, putting our health and economy at risk. As president, I will hold polluters accountable for the damage they inflict upon our environment and set us on a path to a 100 percent clean economy that creates millions of good-paying jobs. This crisis demands urgency and boldness, and as president, I will act.”
Harris’ plan tackles America’s drinking water crisis and increasing penalties for companies who pollute. The former prosecutor also says she will take on the fossil fuel industry and end federal support. At the same time, Harris plans to expand renewable energy, rejoin the Paris agreement and put the United States on track to lead carbon neutrality by 2050.
Warren’s plan adopts ideas expressed by former presidential hopeful Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington state. “While his presidential campaign may be over, his ideas should remain at the center of the agenda,” Warren wrote in her new climate plan.
Among the major focuses for Warren are eliminating certain emissions from regular use in cars, buildings, and power plants, retiring coal-fired electricity within the next 10 years, and creating federal regulations that would revamp the auto industry with an aim at achieving zero-emission vehicles by 2030. The senator from Massachusetts also proposed a health and pension fund for coal miners.
Both Harris and Warren’s plan suggests an intensified interest in climate-related issues by lawmakers. This week most of the top 10 presidential hopefuls released proposals for ways in which the federal government can help combat global warming. It comes ahead of a CNN town-hall-style event taking place on Wednesday evening which the candidates are expected to attend.
