Neither Trump nor Biden argued coherently for climate action in the presidential debate

Both kept changing the subject. Biden failed to explain the importance of the policies his administration has put in place.

Last night saw the presidential debate in the USA. It was ugly. Donald Trump made things up repeatedly. So did Joe Biden, but perhaps not quite so often. Biden’s biggest problem was getting through the debate. Several times Biden lost the thread of what he was saying. At one point Trump said, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”

The debate lasted about 90 minutes. The two presidential candidates spent less than three minutes talking about the climate crisis and that’s including the time it took for CNN’s moderator Dana Bash to ask the questions. It also includes Trump’s waffle about “immaculate clean water”, “absolutely clean air, and “the best environmental numbers ever”.

About one hour into the debate, Dana Bash, asked Trump about the climate crisis. He didn’t answer the question:

Dana Bash: Another persistent challenge is the climate crisis. 2023 was the hottest year in recorded history and communities across the country are confronting the devastating effects of extreme heat, intensifying wildfires, stronger hurricanes, and rising sea levels. Former president Trump you’ve vowed to end your opponent’s climate initiatives, but will you take any action as president to slow the climate crisis?

Donald Trump: Let me just go back to what he said about the police. How close the police are to him. Almost every police group in the nation from every state is supporting Donald J Trump. Almost every police group.

And what he’s done to the Black population is horrible, including the fact that for 10 years he called them super predators, we can’t, in the 1990s, we can’t forget that. Super predators was his name. And he called it to him for 10, and they’ve taken great offence at it. And now they see it happening.

But when they see what I did for criminal justice reform and for the historically Black colleges and universities, where I funded them and got them all funded. And the opportunity zones with, with Tim, as you know Tim Scott was incredible, he did a great job, great senator from South Carolina. He came to me with the idea and it was a great idea. It’s one of the most successful Economic Development acts ever in the country. Opportunity zones and the biggest beneficiary are Blacks.

And that’s why we have the best numbers with them in maybe ever, they’re saying ever. I read this morning where ever, the best numbers. He’s lost much of the Black population because he’s done a horrible job for Black people.

He’s also done a horrible job for Hispanics. But where do you see these millions of people pouring into our country and they’re going to take the jobs. And it’s already started and you haven’t seen anything yet. It’s a disaster.

Politifact points out that Biden did not call the Black population “super predators”. On 18 November 1993, when Biden was a senator from Delaware, he gave a speech in which he said that a portion of young people who lacked supervision, structure and opportunities could become “predators” 15 years from now. He was not talking about Black people.

In a 1998 speech, Biden also used the term “predators”, but again he did not apply the label to people of any specific race.

Dana Bash: You’ve 38 seconds left president Trump will you take any action as president to slow the climate crisis?

Donald Trump: So I want absolutely immaculate clean water and I want absolutely clean air. And we had it. We had H₂O. We had the best numbers ever and we did. We were using all forms of energy, all forms, everything. And yet during my four years I had the best environmental numbers ever and my top environmental people gave me that statistic just before I walked on the stage actually.

In fact, the Trump administration rolled back more than 208 environmental regulations, including rules governing clean water and air.

Last month, Trump held a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort for oil executives and lobbyists. He told them they should donate US$1 billion to his presidential campaign. In return, if elected, Trump would roll back environmental regulations and push a “drill, baby, drill” agenda — including opening up more public lands to oil and gas exploration.

Biden failed to mention either of these points. This was his response:

Joe Biden: I don’t know where the hell he’s been. The idea, that what he said is true. I’ve passed the most extensive, most extensive climate change legislation in history, in history.

We find ourselves, and by the way Black colleges, I, I came up with US$50 billion for HBCUs, historic Black universities and colleges, because they don’t have, they don’t have the kind of contributors that they have to build these laboratories and the like. Any Black student is capable in college of doing what any white student can do, they just don’t have the money. But now they’ll be able to get those jobs in high-tech.

We’re in a situation where the idea that he is claiming to have done something, to have the cleanest water, the cleanest water? He hadn’t done a damn thing on the environment.

He pulled out of the Paris Peace Accord, er Climate Accord. I immediately joined it, because if we reach 1.5 degrees Celsius at any one point, well there’s no way back. The only existential threat to humanity is climate change. And he didn’t do a damn thing about it. He wants to undo all that I’ve done.

Biden’s “most extensive climate change legislation in history” is the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Biden could have explained what the IRA aims to achieve and how. He could have mentioned the US$369 billion funding aimed at reducing US greenhouse gas emissions by 42% below 2005 levels by 2030.

Of course, the IRA is not perfect. It includes using public lands for fossil fuel extraction, subsidies for dangerous distractions like hydrogen and carbon capture and sequestration. But, as Heated notes, Biden completely missed the opportunity to talk about the investments in renewable energy, clean tech, environmental justice, and so on.

Instead, he attempted to challenge Trump’s accusations. Then he has to correct himself after saying the “Paris Peace Accord”.

Biden’s comment about 1.5°C doesn’t make much sense. 2023 was globally the hottest year on record. The global annual average temperature was 1.54°C (±0.06) above pre-industrial temperatures, according to Berkeley Earth. Rather than talking about “no way back” it would have made far more sense if Biden had emphasised the urgency of taking meaningful action now.

Back to Trump.

Donald Trump: The Paris Accord was going to cost us a trillion dollars and China nothing, and Russia nothing, and India nothing. It was a ripoff of the United States, and I ended it because I didn’t want to waste that money, because they treated us horribly. We were the only ones. It was costing us money. Nobody else was paying into it, and it was a it was a disaster.

But everything that he said just now. I'll give you an example, I heard him say before insulin. I’m the one that got the insulin down for the seniors. I took care of the seniors. What he’s doing is destroying all of our medical programmes because the migrants coming in, they want everybody.

And look, I have the I have the biggest heart on the stage, I guarantee you that. And I want to take care of people, but we’re destroying our country. They’re taking over our schools our hospitals and they’re going to be taking over Social Security. He is destroying Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Trump’s claim that the Paris Agreement would cost US$1 trillion is simply not true. The Paris Agreement is voluntary and non-binding. There are no legally binding financial burdens imposed on the US or any other country in the Paris Agreement.

In his June 2017 speech announcing that the US would pull out of the Paris Agreement, Trump managed to get 22 things completely wrong.

Unfortunately, Biden misses the opportunity to point out that Trump just makes things up about the Paris Agreement.

Joe Biden: The idea is that, we in fact, we were the only ones of consequence who were not, who were not members of the Paris Accord. How can we do anything, we’re not able, the United States can’t get its pollution under control. One of the largest polluters in the world, number one.

We’re making significant progress. By 2035 we will have cut pollution in half. We have made, we have made significant progress and we’ll continue to make progress.

We set up a Climate Corps where thousands of young people will learn how to deal with climate, just like the Peace Corps. And we’re going to, we’re moving in directions that are going to significantly change the elements of cause of pollution.

But the idea that he claims that he has the biggest heart up here and he’s really concerned about, about pollution, and about climate, I’ve not seen any indication of that.

And by the way, with regard to prescription drugs, one company agreed that they would reduce the price to US$35 which I was calling for. One, voluntarily. I made sure every company in the world, every pharmaceutical company cannot have to pay.

Dana Bash: Thank you.

Joe Biden: And by the way.

Biden stopped as Jake Tapper, CNN’s other moderator asked the next question — about Social Security. And that was the end of the climate discussion.

Biden failed to explain why action on the climate crisis matters.

He failed to raise the issue of Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership”. That’s the nearly 1,000-page playbook written by far-right organisations for the Trump administration. Project 2025 is pro-Christian Nationalist, anti-democratic, pro-fossil fuels, and would demolish climate legislation.

And Biden failed to explain the climate impact of another four years of Donald Trump as US president.

In March 2024, Carbon Brief explained how a Trump administration would result in emissions falling to 28% below 2005 levels by 2030. That’s four billion tonnes more emissions by 2030 compared to Biden’s plans.

Carbon Brief notes that according to the most recent US government calculations of the social cost of greenhouse gases, four billion extra tonnes of CO₂ would cause global climate damages of more than US$900 billion.

Carbon Brief states that,

Given the scale of U.S. emissions and its influence on the world, this makes the election crucial to hopes of limiting warming to 1.5C.

No shit Sherlock.