Amy Klobuchar Environmental Grade is awful [View all]

[LeftTurn3623]

https://centeractionfund.org/environmental-report-card/



Senator Amy Klobuchar
Overall Grade = D

Wildlife = F
Public Lands = D
Environmental Justice = D
Climate = D+

If elected president Senator Amy Klobuchar would be an unmitigated disaster for the environment. Since becoming a senator in 2007, Klobuchar has consistently taken positions that harm the environment. She has repeatedly introduced legislation that would prematurely remove protections for endangered gray wolves and supports mines that threaten waterways in her own home state. Klobuchar’s climate plan is the weakest of any major candidate running for president and mainly consists of developing market incentives and voluntary measures to achieve “net-zero” emissions by 2050, without a single interim benchmark as scientists recommend.

Wildlife (Grade: F) – As a senator Klobuchar has repeatedly undermined the scientific integrity of the Endangered Species Act by sponsoring legislation that would remove protections for endangered gray wolf populations in the western Great Lakes region.12 She also cosponsored legislation to exempt lead ammunition and sport fishing equipment from regulation despite the fact that lead is known to poison wildlife and people.13 Klobuchar’s website contains no information regarding the protection of endangered species or the extinction crisis.

Public Lands (Grade: D) – Senator Klobuchar has supported the continuation of mining for fossil fuels on public lands. She has openly supported controversial projects like Twin Metals and PolyMet mines, which would wipe out 1,000 acres of wetlands and threaten Minnesota waterways. She supported legislation that would have short-circuited judicial review of the PolyMet mine, which would also have undermined the public’s right to hold the government accountable. Senator Klobuchar voted in 2017 to allocate $25 billion to fund the border wall as a part of a deal to protect the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but has since stated that she opposes the administration’s border wall.14

Environmental Justice (Grade: D) – Klobuchar’s climate plan briefly notes that she would assist communities that are most directly experiencing the impacts of climate change through strong new environmental justice programs. But she fails to provide any detail on her specific policy proposals. Senator Klobuchar failed to cosponsor the Environmental Justice Act in 2007, 2008, 2017 and 2019.15 Further, she has repeatedly proposed legislation that would limit or short-circuit judicial review and access to the courts, which systemically undermines environmental justice. She was also absent from the first ever Presidential Forum on Environmental Justice held in November 2019, indicating that she would not make environmental justice issues a priority during her administration.

Climate (Grade: D+) – Klobuchar would not declare that the climate crisis is a national emergency and does not support the Green New Deal, stating that she views it as “aspirational” only.16 She would end new federal fossil fuel leasing on public lands and waters, but she would not phase out existing production of fossil fuels, nor would she ban fracking or end the export of fossil fuels. Klobuchar would not set a 100% carbon-free electricity goal by 2030 or a transition to zero-emission vehicles by 2030. Instead she has committed only to introducing legislation within the first 100 days with the goal of achieving “net-zero” emissions by 2050. She has promised to restore the clean power rules and gas mileage standards put into place by President Obama, but these modest measures are too limited and would not solve the climate crisis.17 Klobuchar’s plan is almost entirely incentive-driven, which would not be sufficient to make the emissions reductions necessary to effectively combat climate change. She continues to support dubious, unproven “clean coal” technologies.18