"Beto O’Rourke Releases $5 Trillion Climate Change Proposal"

"Beto O’Rourke released the first major policy proposal of his presidential campaign on Monday, outlining a $5 trillion plan to combat climate change through measures including executive action.

The choice by Mr. O’Rourke, who has been criticized for his lack of a concrete platform, to focus his first formal proposal on climate change was noteworthy for what it said about the political environment and voters’ priorities. Democrats have long agreed that climate change is real and ought to be addressed, but they have never made it a decisive issue before. Now, it is tied with health care at the top of Democratic primary voters’ list of concerns.

The plan, which calls for net-zero emissions by 2050, would recommit the United States to the Paris Agreement and restore Obama-era power plant regulations and fuel standards, two points that every Democratic presidential candidate supports."

Maggie Astor and Lisa Friedman report for the New York Times April 29, 2019.

SEE ALSO:

"Beto O’Rourke’s Offers A Climate Change Plan, But Some Activists Say It Doesn’t Go As Far As The Green New Deal" (Washington Post)

"O'Rourke Steps Into The Climate Fray" (Greenwire)

"Group Backing Green New Deal blasts O'Rourke's Climate Plan" (The Hill)