Voters speaking up for clean energy
July 27, 2015 | By
Barbara Vergetis Lundin
At a time when it seems like everyone and their brother are jumping into the political ring, climate change prevention activist group NextGen Climate is calling on presidential candidates and elected officials to lay out a plan to power the United States with more than 50 percent clean energy by 2030.
The group says that climate change is a defining challenge and, if left unchecked, will have devastating effects on the economy and national security. "Our country needs bold leaders who will lay out a plan to achieve more than 50 percent clean energy by 2030, putting us on the pathway to a completely clean energy economy by 2050 and millions of new jobs," said Tom Steyer, NextGen Climate president and founder. "This ambitious -- but achievable -- goal will accelerate America's transition to a clean energy economy, improve public heath by reducing pollution, lower energy costs for families and businesses, create jobs here at home, spur innovation and drive our country's economic growth for decades." The group points to California's success as the road forward, but says the next president must "act boldly to accelerate the transition to clean energy by implementing a concrete plan to achieve more than 50 percent clean energy by 2030. Just as computers and the internet revolutionized our economy over the past few decades, economists and scientists say that moving to clean energy sources will create jobs, save lives by reducing pollution, and drive the kind of economic growth that benefits all Americans. The global race for climate solutions and clean energy is already underway. The question for the public is whether the United States will seize this opportunity to lead, or be left behind as other nations reap the economic benefits." And the public will need to look at that question as it relates to the presidential candidates. A recent NextGen Climate poll in eight battleground states found that 69 percent of voters responded favorably to powering America with more than 50 percent clean energy by 2030 and a completely clean energy economy by 2050; only 8 percent responded unfavorably. Other polls make clear that voters want candidates to lay out their clean energy plans. Bloomberg, for example, reveals that "a clear majority of voters in the crucial presidential election swing states of Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia agree with Pope Francis' call to action on the issue of climate change." The New York Times says, "An overwhelming majority of the American public, including half of Republicans, support government action to curb climate change and two-thirds of Americans said they were more likely to vote for political candidates who campaign on fighting climate change." An ABC poll shows that "Americans by 59-31 percent say they want the next president to be someone who favors government action to address climate change, and 58 percent call it an important issue." And Benenson Strategy Group overwhelmingly found that 72 percent of likely 2016 voters would support the United States signing an international agreement on climate change. For more: © 2015 FierceMarkets, a division of Questex, LLC. All rights reserved. http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/voters-speaking-clean-energy/2015-07-27 |