Sen. Bernie Sanders, co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, “100 by 50 Act” and “Keep it in the Ground Act, is leading the democratic presidential candidates as he continues to champion bold climate action for years. Greenpeace recently evaluated each of the 2020 presidential hopefuls on their bold climate leadership Americans are strongly requiring from their next president.
Former vice-president Joe Biden ranked at the bottom of the list among Democrats.
“To those who currently lead this ranking, we say keep it up,” Janet Redman, Greenpeace USA Climate Campaign Director, said. “The bar is high because nothing less than transformational action can guide us out of this crisis. We encourage you to continue proving you’re an ally Americans on the frontlines of climate disasters can trust. To those at the back of the pack, we say step it up. Show us you have the mettle to take on the oil executives standing in the way of progress towards the green, prosperous future our country deserves.”
In order to rank each candidate based on climate leadership, Greenpeace USA “reviewed their legislative records, public statements, and responses to a 29-question survey,” a press release stated. They were then evaluated on their commitment to end fossil fuels and transfer to a renewable economy and their “vision for a Green New Deal.”
Greenpeace ranked the Democratic candidates qualified for the first DNC debate as follows:
- Bernie Sanders – B+
- Elizabeth Warren – B
- Beto O’Rourke – B-
- Pete Buttigieg – C-
- Kamala Harris – C-
- Joe Biden – D-
Jay Inslee was the leader on the scorecard with an A- and Corey Booker followed with a B+ to tie Sen. Sanders.
According to a CNN poll, Democratic voters and young Republican voters ranked climate change as a top priority when considering their 2020 presidential hopeful. Among democratic voters, 96 percent of the people polled said that climate change was “very important” and they want lawmakers and a president who will take “aggressive action to slow the effects of climate change.”
“We are in a climate emergency,” Redman said. “Yet for the last several elections, even the majority of politicians who claim to care about our future have done little more than say they believe the climate crisis is real. That doesn’t cut it anymore. In 2020, true climate leadership means nothing less than saying ‘yes’ to a Green New Deal and ‘no’ to fossil fuels.”
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