CNN Mayor: 6 winners and 3 losers

CNN's climate crisis conference on Wednesday night was an unprecedented seven-hour prime-time climate change discussion with 10 presidential candidates for Democracy 2020. It was also the most important discussion on anti-corruption policies. against climate change never broadcast on television.

Each candidate was entitled to a 40-minute segment, which meant that he could provide long and nuanced answers to difficult questions about the most complex problem of our time. There were a lot of things that could have gone wrong, so it's remarkable. In the eight hours of official Democratic debates, the mayor has far outstripped the confused discussion of the meager half hour devoted to climate change.

"The climate is not a separate issue," said Senator Cory Booker. "It's the goal through which we have to do everything."

Before the plenary session, the 2020 candidates presented their own global vision of the fight against greenhouse gases and their adaptation to global warming. However, they were tested in front of the cameras and on their own equipment. The questions were asked by CNN moderators and members of the public. They range from carbon taxes to meat consumption and fracking bans.

For many observers and climate activists on social mediait was a surprisingly productive discussion that dealt with a fundamental challenge that the president had to meet in his mandate: the exercise of executive power.

Between two segments, CNN provided updates on Hurricane Dorian, the strongest storm of the year. It has served as a backdrop to the adverse effects of global warming, such as rising sea levels and heavy rainfall, on the damage caused by extreme weather conditions.

Throughout the night, candidates were forced not to recite vague platitudes, taunt President Trump and shoot at their opponents. Instead, faced with a public really involved in the fight against climate change, he had to defend his ideas on the merits.

Some did it better than others. And in seven hours of questions, we learned who was the most ready to take action against climate change, but also who led the discussion.

Here are those who reached the heights and those who were under water at the end of the long evening.

Winner: Jay Inslee

Washington Governor Jay Inslee has built his presidential campaign around the urgency of tackling climate change. Although Inslee was not on stage on Wednesday night – he left the race in August after publishing more than 200 pages of climate change policy, all ambitious and detailed – his influence was ubiquitous.

Warren met with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in Seattle last week while she was preparing her climate plan. He met with former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke, former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Cory Booker and Senator Amy Klobuchar. The former Housing Secretary, Julian Castro, "was looking for me," Inslee told Vox on Wednesday, but they have not yet managed to connect.

On Wednesday evening, several candidates felt that Inslee's platform was the gold standard for climate plans. "I would also like to congratulate Governor Jay Inslee, who did a fantastic job in putting this issue at the forefront of this campaign," said Castro.

Klobuchar said that she supported "individual efforts such as Governor Inslee speaks so well: even using cold water for clothes saves five times as much energy" .

"I'm going to steal a line from Governor Inslee," said Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA). "Donald Trump said that wind turbines cause cancer. And Jay said no, they do not cause cancer, they create jobs. "

Warren explained his recently unveiled proposal that adopted a board from Inslee's six-plane platform, calling for decarbonization of electricity, vehicles and buildings through stricter regulatory standards. Warren's campaign told Vox she was still reviewing the rest of Inslee's climate program.

Prior to Plenary on climate, Inslee told Vox that he would ensure that candidates discuss the timing of their projects and how they would manage to pass them through thin majorities in Congress (he supports himself the elimination of the buccaneer). Few applicants – with the exception of Sanders, whose Green New Deal offers federal investments of $ 16 trillion – have submitted proposals as comprehensive and as broad as Inslee's. But Inslee is always encouraged by the fact that people listen to him.

"I'm honored that people have recognized that our plan has real substance," Inslee told Vox. – Tara Golshan

Winner: The Sunrise Movement

The tenacious activists of the Sunrise Movement, the youth-led political movement that helped shape the Green New Deal, campaigned for a presidential debate on climate change.

While the DNC refused to hold an official climate debate, Sunrise activists won support for the idea of ​​the majority of Democratic presidential candidates, arguing for CNN (and MSNBC, which will hold a public next week) to try his luck. organize a forum on climate change.

"You and other members of the Sunrise Movement are going to be the ones who will receive the credit for this change we are talking about today," said former Texas representative, Beto O. Rourke. , to the organizer Juliana Rossi of Camargo. at sunrise, at the CNN town hall.

Sunrise also helps to define the objectives of the candidates' political ambition in terms of climate. Each candidate's program was tacitly or openly measured against Sunrise's fundamental climate proposal, the Green New Deal, a set of principles aimed at eliminating the US contribution to climate change by mid-century.

"I love the vision of the Green New Deal," said entrepreneur Andrew Yang. "The authors of this project have done us a great service in stimulating so many people around a vision."

And the Sunrise activists themselves, a group of young and diverse activists, continue to push candidates to strive to achieve more ambitious emissions reduction targets, demanding the details and commitment of all who seek a position. – Umair Irfan

Winner: Bernie Sanders

Sanders was a little late to play in this primary climate; he did not publish his complete climate plan until August. But when he came out, he came out with a bang, describing the only plan to date that rivals Inslee's reach and ambition. And it contained some provisions that no other campaign has touched, including a plan to semi-nationalize the nation's electricity utilities. The price: $ 16 trillion over 10 years.

At the forum, Sanders took advantage of Biden's sequel, as disconcerting and unclear as the entire campaign season. On the other hand, Sanders was precise and precise, easily mastering the details of his plan. And the more intimate setting allowed Sanders to experience moments of serene reflection and – especially in response to a question about fossil fuel workers – real emotions.

"I have spent my whole life fighting for the workers," he said. "Let's be clear, the coal miners of this country, the men and women who work on the oil rigs, are not my enemies. My enemy is climate change. "

In essence, his worst response was his first. Asked about the systematic obstruction, he proposed a lame defense, saying he did not want "the Senate to become the House." He asserted that he could instead enact his climate plan through a majority Senate process called "fiscal reconciliation". . (That's not true – only a limited slice of any climate plan can meet reconciliation rules.)

Few voters care about the filibuster, and from there, Sanders continued his lawsuit against fossil fuel companies (he would order his Justice Department to hold them criminally liable) , is committed to protecting workers and small businesses, and almost alone among the candidates, faced with the idea that there could be an effort and sacrifices involved in solving the climate crisis. "There will be change," he said. "We will have to ask people to understand that we need to make these changes now, even if they can be a bit uncomfortable, for the sake of future generations."

A notable dynamic: with Jay Inslee out of the race, Sanders' plan became the de facto marker of ambition. Several candidates were asked to compare their plans to his own; he threatened the debate even when he was not on stage. – David Roberts

Winner: The interrogating public

A mother who lost her daughter because of the super storm Sandy. A nurse concerned about the effects of climate on her low-income patients. A refugee from the sea level rise. A trade unionist worried about losing his job.

The most pressing issues of the night have been asked by ordinary people facing the consequences of climate change or likely to suffer from efforts to combat it. Their personal stories have added concrete issues to the often abstract discussions on climate policy. And looking straight to the candidates, they asked tough, specific and hard to avoid questions.

"My husband and I own our unique 2,000-square-foot house in the 500-year-old floodplain," retired school teacher Emily Wilkins told Julián Castro, a former housing secretary. to urban development. "We are required to take out FEMA flood insurance, but its cost increases by 18% each year. We risk losing our home at some point when we can no longer afford insurance. What proposals from you would help us stay at home?

Carson Tueller, a disability and LGBTQ rights activist, told Senator Kamala Harris how she would respond to the impacts of climate change on marginalized people, building on her personal struggles during this summer's heat wave. "I suffer from a spinal injury and having a spinal injury means that I experience what is called a thermodysregulation. I can not regulate the temperature of my body. I can not sweat. July 2019 was the hottest month on our planet, "he said. "And my health has been seriously threatened more than once.

Stakeholders got good answers and pushed some candidates into uncomfortable positions, as good questions should. And for home viewers, they helped illustrate how climate change mitigation efforts could affect them and who, in the race for the presidency, would be their best advocate in the transition to clean energy. – Umair Irfan

Winner: CNN

Let's face it, the first two moderators of CNN, Wolf Blitzer and Erin Burnett, were … not good. Blitzer's idea of ​​a difficult question was to ask Andrew Yang if "all Americans will have to drive electric cars".

"Electric cars are not something you have to do," said Yang laughing. "It's awesome!"

Blitzer: "So what's the answer? Will we all have to drive electric cars?

Yang: "We will all love to drive our electric cars."

Blitzer: "Are we going duty to drive electric cars?

Oy.

It is the cable moderator's typical idea of ​​a difficult question: to ask Democrats to respond to a Republican speech. There was a striking contrast between the useless questions of the moderators and the question posed and enlightened by the public.

However, Anderson Cooper reversed the situation when he took office, providing useful context and clarification to both stakeholders and candidates. ("Thanks for your help," Biden snapped at some point.) And Bill Weir, a special "climate correspondent", spent all night asking intelligent questions, while remaining focused on human suffering.

In retrospect, it is remarkable that this thing happened, and that it could easily have been filled with superficial questions and cliché answers. Instead, CNN managed to host seven hours of in-depth and in-depth discussions on climate change – something that would have been unthinkable just six months ago – with very little fat.

As often as the network is criticized for its climate coverage, it deserves a huge credit for that. – David Roberts

Winner: the Democratic Party

It is hard to imagine a set of Republican lawmakers engaged in a sustained and positive political debate for seven hours, but the Democratic candidates won it with confidence. They did not attack each other; they spent very little time attacking the Republicans; Even Trump himself had only a few calls. Almost all of the event was devoted to a prospective social and political discussion. It was downright inspiring.

There are a lot of differences between the candidates, regarding climate change and other issues. And all the candidates did not leave the park at the town hall. (Harris and Biden, in particular, seemed uncomfortable and did more obstructions than others.) But not a single candidate came unprepared; not one candidate was anything less than informed and engaged. A few of them – Yang and Booker in particular – have recorded some of the strongest performances of their races so far.

The primary season may well be miserable and Trump win in 2020, but Democrats – especially Democrats concerned about climate change – should take comfort in the fact that they have an impressive and deep bench, aligned with the right side of the story. – David Roberts

Loser: Joe Biden

Joe Biden's big moment at CNN's Town Hall was not what he had hoped for: he was invited to plan his participation in the fundraising campaign organized by Andrew Goldman Thursday, who helped found the company Western LNG natural gas.

Although Goldman is not technically a responsible leader in fossil fuels and is not part of the day-to-day activities of the company, Biden said he would consider withdrawing from fundraising if there was a closer relationship between the two. two. But even a hint of comfort between Biden and someone related to a fossil fuel business will not make climate activists happy. (Immediately after the debate, Sunrise asked Biden to cancel the fundraiser.)

Compared to Warren and Sanders, the former vice president and current Democratic favorite did not offer a clear view of the climate. Biden gave long and often disjointed answers on his climate plan, noting that climate groups gave him a "B + or more". He refused to join his opponents in supporting a national ban on fracking. And he kept coming back to the point that his experience of talking to world leaders as Obama's vice-president would help him build an international coalition for the climate. In doing so, Biden seemed to suggest that whatever the United States was doing to decarbonize, it would ultimately not matter if the rest of the world did not follow suit.

"The fact is we represent 15% of the problem. The rest of the world accounts for 80, 85% of the problem, "said Biden. If we have done everything perfectly – and we must and need to get other countries to act – we still have to convince the rest of the world to come forward and the fact is that we need to dramatically increase the game. "- Ella Nilsen

Loser: oil and gas companies

The CNN City Hall on Climate has once again shown how much the window of Overton on climate change had been moved to Democrats. President Obama has openly touted the increase in US fossil fuel production, its exports and the low prices of gasoline. Climate change has barely appeared in the 2016 presidential race.

Now Democrats are describing all sorts of ways to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for its pollution and emissions, and chart the way forward for US weaning of its products.

The 10 candidates all want to restrict drilling on public lands. Senator Bernie Sanders wants criminal prosecutions against climate polluters. Harris wants to sue them. "They cause wrongs and deaths in communities," she said. "And there was no responsibility." Until now, Booker and Sanders had announced that they would ban fracking.

Castro described the inevitable end of natural gas: "… almost a decade ago, we said that natural gas was a bridge fuel. We arrive at the end of the bridge. My plan is to move to clean, renewable, zero emission energy in the coming years. "

Subsidies to oil and gas companies, to which all candidates are opposed, were also mentioned; Sanders wants to end it completely by 2050. "What is happening right now is that we give the fossil fuel industry about $ 400 billion a year in subsidies and tax breaks" said Sanders.

Yang and Warren emphasized how industry has distracted and manipulated the public in the face of climate change; Yang described how he intends to reduce the influence of industry in politics. "Do you know how they spend some of their money, their billions of dollars in profit?", He said. "During a misinformation campaign against the American people, they took our legislative assembly hostage. The fossil fuel lobbying industry is worth tens of millions a year. "

Candidates differ in their fossil fuel transition times, but the forum clearly showed how united they were in their commitment to a policy that would drastically restrict the sector by 2020. – Eliza Barclay

Loser: meat

Several candidates have had to deal with variations in audience on one of the most sensitive climate issues: how are you going to encourage Americans to reduce their meat consumption, given greenhouse gas emissions? disproportionate greenhouse of beef production compared to other foods?

Several ideas emerged, including the use of nutrition labels to inform Americans of the environmental impacts of meat production, the use of a carbon tax to signal the effects of meat on emissions and the reduction of subsidies to the meat industry, all of which could harm the meat industry and benefits the climate.

Moderator Erin Burnett asked Harris if she was in favor of changing dietary guidelines to reduce red meat. "We will encourage moderation," said Harris, "I have always believed that we should develop the contents of the cans you buy at the grocery store. We should expand the list. Included in this should be a measure of the impact on the environment. "

Several candidates have also used the issue of the regime as an opportunity to point out that Republicans have made the assumption of the threat that Democrats take away American burgers an argument against the Green New Deal. "The important thing to understand is that we can have a more balanced diet and therefore a more balanced footprint and not abolish the cow," Buttigieg said. "[Abolishing the cow] are people saying about the Green New Deal? Because it's an easy Republican discussion topic. "

Buttigieg noted that its carbon tax on meat would help reduce meat consumption by demonstrating to consumers the costs of meat production for the climate. "We are changing the economic signal by balancing it, what we have lost in relation to our relationship with creation with the Earth, which strengthens our ability to live."

Booker, a vegan, hinted that his administration would also govern subsidies to the dairy industry and the dairy industry. "We will need to ensure that our government does not subsidize activities that make us sick and unhealthy and harm our environment, and begin to encourage practices that promote agriculture, agriculture and the health of our communities. . "- Eliza Barclay