US Vice-Presidential Debate 2020: Pence and Harris clash over approach on climate change

Touching upon the raging issue of climate change, Susan Page, the moderator of vice-presidential debate on October 8 asked California Senator Kamala Harris and incumbent Mike Pence about the role of science in the issue. While Harris claimed that if Joe Biden wins, US will reenter the 2015 Paris Accord that has been abandoned by the Donald Trump administration, Pence said the air and land in the United States are “cleaner than any time ever recorded”. Mike Pence touted the steps taken by US President in the conservation of the environment and mentioned the Outdoors Act but Harris lashed out on the current administration for denying science.

Mike Pence said, “Now with regard to climate change, the climate is changing, but the issue is what’s the cause and what do we do about it? President Trump has made it clear that we’re going to continue to listen to the science. Now Joe Biden and Kamala Harris would put us back in the Paris Climate Accord.”

According to Pence, the Green New Deal promoted by the Democrats to battle the climate crisis would “crush American energy”, would further increase the cost of energy for the families in the country and “literally would crush American jobs”. The US Vice President also said that the Republican administration “reduced CO2 more than the countries” that are still in part of the Paris Climate Accord. 

Harris-Pence also talked about the forest wildfires and hurricanes that threaten US coasts. While Trump has a history of stirring controversy by questioning the science on the climate crisis, Pence said “It will start getting cooler” and he went on to add that “I don’t think science knows, actually”. The California Senator also attacked the Trump-Pence administration for their “pattern” of dismissing science.

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Kamala Harris rebutted

Posing a strong rebuttal to Pence’s remarks, Harris said that Joe Biden has the plan to create more jobs and some of them will be about clean and renewable energy. The Senator said that “Joe believes in science” but the Trump administration has a “pattern” of denying the conclusions made by experts. 

Kamala Harris said, “Do you know, this administration took the word science off the website, and then took the phrase climate change off the website? We have seen a pattern with this administration, which is they don’t believe in science.”

“And Joe’s plan is about saying we’re going to deal with it, but we’re also going to create jobs. Donald Trump, when asked about the wildfires in California, and the question was, the science is telling us this… You know what Donald Trump said? Science doesn’t know,” she added.

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