Tom Steyer says 2020 race needs him for urgent action on climate change

canadian goose jacket Tom Steyer. (Stephen Lam/Reuters) canadian goose jacket

Tom Steyer’s eleventh hour bid to run for president left many Democrats stunned. Why the change of heart? It’s partly because Steyer believes he’s the best on climate change in the crowded field.

The billionaire financier and Democratic donor said in an interview that he is the only 2020 candidate willing to declare climate change a national emergency. Doing so, he claims, canada goose vest outlet will allow him to bring the full power canada goose mens uk sale of the executive branch to bear on what he sees as an economic and ecological crisis that for years has defined his public and philanthropic persona.

Steyer, who at the beginning of the year said he would concentrate on his campaign to raise money to impeach President Trump, changed his mind in July. He’s drawn heat from the left for vowing to spend as much as $100 million of his own money in the primary for what would be an extreme long shot bid instead of funneling it to grassroots organizations or congressional races.

But Steyer argues that he’s needed in the race because global warming is “an urgent emergency” and the other candidates haven’t proved they’re serious enough about it.

canada goose coats “The question is what is going to make everyone come to the idea that not a problem, but it’s an emergency,” Steyer said. “It’s sort of like, this is 1940. We have a problem but we haven’t had Pearl Harbor.” canada goose coats

Trump’s embrace of executive actions has whetted the appetites of Democrats eyeing the White House. Steyer and other Democrats are openly talking about how they would harness and further expand the power of the executive branch instead of working canada goose gloves uk with Congress. “If today, the national emergency is border security,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R Fla.) said on CNBC in January, “tomorrow the national emergency might be climate change.”

Steyer’s campaign promises show that was actually quite the appealing option: He believes the president has vast emergency powers when it comes to dealing with the causes and effects of climate change. (And it’s worth noting that Sen. Kamala Harris (D Calif.) has called gun violence a public health emergency and has promised to take executive action if elected president.)

“The president’s emergency powers are pretty broad,” Steyer said. “It gives you the ability to change regulations. It gives you the ability to move money around. It gives you the ability to do an awful lot.” Case in point: the Supreme Court voted late last month to allow the Trump administration to use military funds to build the border wall, despite court challenges seeking to stop it.

While stopping short of promising an emergency declaration, other candidates’ climate plans rely heavily on presidential power, too. Every Democratic candidate says they would rejoin the Paris climate accord. And most say they would end fossil fuel extraction on federal lands.

canada goose uk black friday Steyer, who made his millions managing a hedge fund, has already carved out a place for himself in Democratic politics as an environmental activist. canada goose uk black friday

Canada Goose Online In 2013, he publicly urged President Barack Obama to withhold State Department approval of the Keystone XL pipeline from oil rich Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries. That canada goose black friday same year, his environmental advocacy nonprofit organization, NextGen Climate, began injecting tens of millions of dollars into efforts to prop up Democratic candidates for office. Since Trump’s election, Steyer has expanded his portfolio of causes to include immigrants’ rights and Trump’s impeachment. In 2017, his nonprofit group changed its name to NextGen America. Canada Goose Online

And in the 2020 race, another candidate is seeking to take on the mantle of the climate candidate: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

Steyer said he considers Inslee, who has tried for years to pass a carbon tax in Washington state, a “personal friend.” He added the Washington governor “is someone who’s concerned and hard working and cares and [is] knowledgeable.” The two had been political allies in trying to win Democratic control of the Washington state Senate.

But while Inslee has called climate change a “crisis” and an “emergency” during the Democratic debates, he has also told reporters at the beginning of his campaign he would not issue an emergency declaration at this point if elected president.

“I don’t think unless you’re willing to declare a state of emergency you are really dealing with the [issue],” Steyer said.

canada goose clearance sale Like Inslee, Steyer has a multipronged plan for dealing canada goose outlet authentic with climate change. infrastructure by building out not only electric vehicle charging stations and energy efficienct buildings but also affordable housing and universal broadband, to the benefit of low income communities. canada goose clearance sale

Ultimately, he wants to cut fossil fuel use to the point where the United States isn’t making a net contribution to the global buildup of greenhouse gases by 2045.

uk canada goose outlet Other candidates target 2030 or 2050 as their deadlines for that goal. Steyer says he has chosen his date canada goose outlet because it is realistic and happens to be when his home state, California, has vowed to make its electric grid carbon free. uk canada goose outlet

canada goose clearance “There is no perfect date, and I think there is no perfect goal,” Steyer said. “But at some level you have to do something that is both feasible that you can do successfully and aggressive.” canada goose clearance

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POWER PLAYS

A coal fired power station owned and operated by American Electric Power near Conesville, Ohio. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

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