Climate change split the top two candidates in the Louisiana Senate race in a state that’s home to a vibrant fossil fuel industry, but also one of the most vulnerable to rising sea levels and intense storms linked to a warming planet.
GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy, who is challenging the incumbent Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, claimed during a Tuesday debate in Shreveport, La., that, “global temperatures have not risen in 15 years.”
But that’s not true.
Data show that the rate of warming has slowed during that period but temperatures are still rising year-over-year, with 2014 shaping up to be the hottest ever.
And while the rate of air temperature increases has slowed — climate scientists say that’s more than made up with a rise in ocean temperatures — 13 of the 14 warmest years on record occurred since 2000, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
While Landrieu departed from Cassidy on climate change, she still offered a tepid response, saying that, “I do believe our climate is changing, and I do believe that humans contribute.”
She didn’t venture to say how much humans are responsible for warming — a scientific consensus says humans drive a warming planet, largely by burning fossil fuels — though she said she disagreed with Obama administration’s policies that aim to curb the greenhouse gas emissions.
While the candidates fielded a question on climate change, the debate strayed from energy issues — not a single question was asked on the topic.
Landrieu has based a good deal of her campaign on her chairmanship of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which she said would give Louisiana a prominent role in energy policy.
Cassidy has hit back that Landrieu has been ineffective with the gavel, and that she will continue to be if the Senate remains in Democratic control.
