An Alaskan senator is railing against President Obama’s pledges to help developing countries while using her state as a talking point.
Robert Dillon, spokesman for Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Obama is fond of using Alaska as an example when talking about climate change. The president visited the nation’s northernmost state this summer to see the effects of climate change firsthand and has referred to the trip multiple times.
“Given those statements, you’d think that helping Alaska would be a priority for the administration,” Dillon said. “But, you’d be exactly wrong. Alaska and its residents are still nothing more than a talking point, trotted out in support of the administration’s climate regulations and now its commitments to somehow send taxpayers dollars to the rest of the world.”
The U.S. has made massive monetary pledges to the developing world in Paris.
Obama plans to send $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund to help developing countries deal with the effects of climate change over the next three years, Secretary of State John Kerry announced the U.S. would spend $400 million more by 2020 on helping international climate change adaptation efforts, doubling the amount currently spent, and Obama has committed another $30 million for international climate risk assurance.
Given those commitments, Dillon said Obama should be treating U.S. states the same as other countries. But the administration has only pledged $2 million to support relocation efforts in areas affected by climate change.
“In other words, thousands of times less than the international commitments he and his team have made, despite their public statements and the fact that many Alaska villages face challenges similar to those in developing nations,” Dillon said.
Dillon said the administration is also making life harder for residents in a state that relies heavily on oil production.
Environmental regulations and a depressed market are strangling oil producers in Alaska, Dillon said. The state needs the money it collects from oil and gas producers to fund many of its economic and environmental priorities, he added.
Kerry, when speaking in Paris Wednesday, said the U.S. would not leave the most vulnerable countries to deal with climate change on their own.
“Too bad that doesn’t also hold true for communities right here at home,” Dillon responded.
The White House did not immediately respond to Dillon’s statements.
