Billionaire climate change activist Tom Steyer isn’t likely to get his wish of a thoughtful clean energy discussion at Tuesday night’s Republican debate in Las Vegas.
The earlier debate among the second-tier candidates focused on national security and Islamic terror without much room for anything else, despite Mike Huckabee uttering the word “biofuels” in a brief attempt to address energy security.
Steyer paid for TV spots ahead of the debate in an attempt to pressure the candidates to support a national move toward cleaner forms of energy that lower greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.
“If you think there’s no solution to the climate crisis, think again,” Steyer says in the $100,000 ad buy. “With bold leadership and an endless supply of wind and sun, we can do even more. The goal is 50 percent clean energy by 2030. So what are we waiting for?”
His group, NextGen Climate, also ran print ads in the Las Vegas Sun and USA Today. The ads claims that 72 percent of Republican voters would back a move toward wind and solar energy.
Steyer said in a separate statement that any GOP presidential candidate “who refuses to embrace clean energy is putting themselves at odds with the American people — and Republican voters.”
“Investing in clean energy will help solve climate change, create millions of jobs and put more money in Americans’ pockets,” he said. “Is the Republican presidential field really going to ignore this tremendous economic opportunity?”
