With California’s wildfires spreading increasingly, the debate over climate change is at the forefront of the issues that are being talked about by both presidential candidates. Both President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have differing plans for the climate. Here’s everything you need to know about what each candidate is offering for climate change.

President Trump’s Climate Plan (key priorities provided by NPR):

• Increase the country’s supply and production of oil and gas, and continue to increase industries that provide those energy products

• Continue roll-backs of Democratic environmental regulations, many of which were put in place during the Obama administration

NPR stated that Trump’s priorities for the environment are clean air and water, but also to “boost U.S. production of oil and natural gas.”

President Trump has publicly stated that he does not believe that many statements made about climate change are true, but has stated that he supports clean water and air, and cleanup of plastics in the ocean. 

Public statements from the president about climate change include his statement that man-made climate change is a hoax. Additionally, during his visit to California in October, Trump stated “I don’t think science knows actually,” as a reply to scientists disagreeing with his stance on climate change. 

The president also pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, AKA “the international agreement on tackling climate change.” 

Trump’s current plan for the environment would include increased expansion of drilling for oil and natural gas, as well as more rollback on climate change policies that were put in place during the Obama administration.

While there are not many new environmental plans from the Trump administration, the Biden campaign has a detailed overview of what Biden would do to help the environment if he were to be elected.

“Biden has a climate plan—a big one. Trump simply doesn’t,” stated CNBC when explaining what voters may encounter for policy differences between the two candidates on climate change.

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s Climate Plan (key priorities provided by NPR):

• Pushing the United States toward a net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 path, with an intermediate goal of “ridding the power sector of carbon pollution by 2035” 

• Investing $2 trillion over a span of four years in green areas like infrastructure, transportation and auto industries, housing and construction, nature conservation and environmental justice

• Creating 1 million new jobs in auto, boosting electric vehicles

• Building 1.5 million sustainable homes

Biden’s plan for the environment details how he would return the U.S. to the Paris agreement, and how he would create more jobs. 

His plan for the environment would include creating “a division within the Justice Department that regulates and penalizes companies for environmental effects on communities.” The plan would also involve “allocat[ing] 40 percent of clean energy plan investments toward low-income and minority communities more heavily affected by pollution and climate change,” and “increas[ing] climate-focused investments in the auto and transportation industries to cut emissions and create jobs.” 

Biden’s campaign website goes into extensive detail about how he plans on implementing his clean energy plan. According to the Biden campaign website, his plan would: 

• “Ensure the US achieves a 100 percent clean energy economy and reaches net-zero emissions no later than 2050” 

• “Rally the rest of the world to meet the threat of climate change”

• “Ensure that all U.S. government installations, buildings, and facilities are more efficient and climate-ready, harnessing the purchasing power and supply chains to drive innovation”

• “Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation [ . . .] by preserving and implementing the existing Clean Air Act, and developing rigorous new fuel economy standards aimed at ensuring 100% of new sales for light- and medium-duty vehicles will be electrified and annual improvements for heavy duty vehicles”

Both candidates have drastically different plans regarding the environment and climate change that will affect how voters vote in the upcoming election. For more information please visit the candidates’ websites.

-Biden: https://joebiden.com/climate-plan/# 

-Trump: https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/energy-environment/