Tom Steyer, the newest entrant to the presidential race, introduced a climate change plan Thursday night that is more aggressive than most of his competitors.
Steyer aims for the U.S. to cut “fossil fuel pollution” from all economic sectors to reach reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across the entire economy by 2045, a faster timeline than major Democratic candidates have proposed except Jay Inslee, who has set the same date.
Steyer also promises to use “emergency powers” to counter climate change if Congress does not enact his agenda, “just as I would use those powers to protect our country from a hostile military invasion.”
Other candidates, such as Joe Biden, have set a 2050 deadline for carbon neutrality, which is consistent with what the United Nations’ climate change panel says is necessary to avoid the worst harms of global warming.
Net-zero, or carbon neutrality, refers to the process of eliminating as many carbon emissions as are produced within the country, by coupling reductions in fossil fuel use with activities such as forest restoration and the deployment of carbon capture technologies.
Steyer, a billionaire donor to environmental causes, also centers his climate change agenda more specifically on public health and helping areas hurt by pollution than other candidates. He does not call for the federal job guarantee envisioned in the Green New Deal, but the plan does contain many other of its items, such as providing $50 billion for healthcare, wages, and benefits for fossil fuel workers during the clean energy transition.
He projects his plan to cost $2.3 trillion in government spending.
“My Justice-Centered Climate Plan presents a bold and actionable path forward,” Steyer says. “It responds to the climate crisis we face, reestablishes the United States as a global leader, and works to confront and correct our past mistakes to create a more inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous future.”
By releasing an aggressive new plan early in his campaign, Steyer is looking to counter the criticism of some environmentalists who worry he would be better served spending the $100 million in personal money he has pegged for his campaign on helping other presidential candidates or advocating for policy at the state and local level.
