Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio told a crowd of voters in New Hampshire Tuesday that he wants the United States to lead the world in renewable energy.
It’s a surprising statement from a lawmaker who has been criticized as a climate change doubter, but Rubio’s argument for more renewable energy was an economic one. He said it behooves the country to lead the world in all energy sources, both renewable and fossil fuels.
“I want us to lead the world in everything,” he said. “Let’s be number one in wind, let’s be number one in solar, let’s be number one in biofuel, number one in renewables, number one in energy efficiency. Let’s lead in all of these things.”
The junior senator from the Sunshine State has twice voted against tax credits for renewable energy incentives and didn’t show up for votes on implementing a renewable electricity standard and installing solar panels on 10 million homes.
Rubio said he wants to have a true all-of-the-above energy plan that creates “an even playing field” for oil, natural gas and renewable energy. He told the crowd in New Hampshire that he doesn’t believe in tax credits for any particular type of energy, instead favoring a flat 25 percent business tax.
“Our job is to create an even playing field in our taxes and our regulations, and the private sector will take care of the rest,” he said. “I believe that if we do that, we are going to lead the world in all of these energy resources.”
Rubio added that it’s folly to believe oil and natural gas do not have a role to play in the country’s energy future. He called it “foolish and irresponsible” to not use as many of the nation’s natural resources as possible. Rubio currently ranks third in the Washington Examiner’s presidential power rankings.
Khalid Pitts, political director at the Sierra Club, said he was encouraged by Rubio’s stance on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. It points to a trend of Republican candidates being more in favor of clean energy as a part of the nation’s economy, he said.
“It’s exciting that Republican candidates are finally recognizing the incredible growth of our clean energy economy and the broad bipartisan support for clean energy over fossil fuels just weeks before a big election, but it is unfortunate that people like Senator Rubio have failed to act when given repeated opportunities to do so,” Pitts said.
Pitts added that the majority of jobs created by the wind energy industry are going to Republican districts where the majority of wind energy capacity is installed.
“There’s no better example than Iowa, where wind farms are now producing a third of the state’s electricity,” Pitts said. “Sadly, Marco Rubio voted to stop this progress when he voted against job-creating investments in clean energy, a position that lets the rest of the world leapfrog us in the push to lead in one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy in the world.
“Now, it’s important that the country hears more from Rubio and the other candidates about the benefits of clean energy.”
