President Barack Obama said he’ll be better positioned to influence Republicans about climate change policy after completing his term, telling a reporter during an environmental-themed visit in the Pacific that he’ll be more credible and convincing as a private citizen.
Obama said he plans to use the “megaphone” of a former president to continue working on the issue, and one of his particular goals is to move the policy-making in a bipartisan direction.
“My hope is, maybe as ex-president, I can have a little more influence on some of my Republican friends who, I think up until now, have been resistant to the science and argue to them that if the private sector and the business community is embracing an agenda of clean energy and dealing with climate change effectively and insurers are pricing how they think about flooding and hurricanes and drought and wildfires based on projections that we’re seeing of climate change, then there’s no reason why this is something that should be a partisan issue,” he told the traveling press pool overnight Friday in Midway Atoll.
“This is something that all of us are going to have to tackle, and maybe I get a little more of a hearing if I’m not occupying a political office.”
The president snorkeled during his stop at the remote coral reef and took note of the vulnerable nature there. He was en route to Asia for his final G20 summit, which will take place in Hangzhou, China, and a gathering in Laos. Though the G20 meeting will focus largely on defense and trade issues, he said Friday that climate change policy will be a “centerpiece” of the agenda.
