President Obama appears to be reaching out to Republicans on the issue of climate change, according to a speech he gave Wednesday to the Illinois legislature.
The speech focused on “What can we do to try to make our politics better?” One way to do that is to reach across the aisle on areas where Democrats and Republicans can agree, including on climate change, he said.
“I believe in science, and the science behind things like climate change and that a transition to cleaner sources of energy will help preserve our planet for future generations,” Obama said in a list of areas he believes in as a progressive Democrat.
Although he wouldn’t be nailed down on the how and when, he appeared to be sending a message of cooperation to his colleagues across the aisle.
“I believe that there are a lot of Republicans that share many of those same values even though they may disagree on the means to achieve them,” he said.
“I think sometimes my Republican colleagues make constructive points about outdated regulations that may need to be changed, or programs that even though well-intended, didn’t always work the way they were supposed to,” Obama said.
The apparent olive branch came a day after the Supreme Court halted the centerpiece of his climate change agenda, the Clean Power Plan. Climate change has remained a key focus of his second term as president, and, therefore, his last year in office.
Obama did not comment on the court’s decision, although White House officials sought to downplay it.
The budget he released Tuesday added unprecedented amounts of new spending for climate change-related activities and programs, including big boosts for renewable energy and helping vulnerable groups cope with coastal sea-level rise.
The GOP has been defiantly opposed to the president’s climate change agenda and the number of far-reaching regulations that have been enacted under his watch to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help curb the effects of climate change.
Many scientists say the Earth’s temperature is rising from the burning of fossil fuels that introduce more greenhouse gas emissions than the planet can efficiently absorb, resulting in more severe weather, droughts and flooding.
