Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump and his chief rival, Sen. Ted Cruz, are united in their opposition to President Obama’s environmental regulations.
In a survey from the pro-fossil fuel industry American Energy Alliance, Trump said he supports the government’s mandate to put increasing amounts of ethanol in gasoline, called the Renewable Fuel Standard, left the question of environmental subsidies up to Congress and believes the federal government should set up a shared governance structure with states on federal lands.
He also said the administration exceeded its authority in crafting the Clean Power Plan, the Obama administration’s signature environmental regulation on coal power plants.
“The Obama administration committed an overreach that punishes rather than helps Americans,” Trump said. “Under my administration, all [Environmental Protection Agency] rules will be reviewed. Any regulation that imposes undue costs on business enterprises will be eliminated.”
Trump added that he does not support a carbon tax and believes the federal government abuses the regulatory process to ensure cost-benefit analyses fit a political agenda. He said a Trump administration would review the finding that carbon dioxide endangers public health and welfare.
Cruz differed from Trump in stating he supports ending all subsidies for energy, wants to end the Renewable Fuel Standard, wants the federal government to divest of its land holdings and said the Clean Power Plan is of “dubious legality.”
Cruz, who like Trump is a climate change doubter, said he does not believe the scientific evidence shows carbon dioxide is affecting the planet’s temperature.
“The observed temperature evidence does not support the claims that carbon dioxide is dangerous,” Cruz said. “More recent scientific developments indicate that a review of the endangerment finding is needed.”
Many scientists believe the burning of fossil fuels, and the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, is driving climate change and the subsequent warming of the planet.
Cruz agreed with Trump in not supporting a carbon tax and believes the EPA’s Waters of the United States rule, which designates many water sources as federally protected under the Clean Water Act, is illegal.
Trump and Cruz were the only remaining presidential candidates to respond to a questionnaire from the American Energy Alliance. The questionnaire was also sent to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but the group had not heard back from those campaigns as of Wednesday morning.
