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2020 presidential candidates on the Green New Deal

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Presidential election
Republican Party Donald Trump
Democratic Party Joe Biden
Green Party Howie Hawkins
Libertarian Party Jo Jorgensen

This page includes statements from the 2020 presidential candidates on the Green New Deal. These statements were compiled from each candidate's official campaign website, editorials, speeches, and interviews. Click the following links for policy statements about related issues: energy and environmental issues and climate change.

The candidates featured on this page are the 2020 presidential nominees from the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, and Green parties.

Republican Party Donald Trump
Democratic Party Joe Biden
Green Party Howie Hawkins
Libertarian Party Jo Jorgensen

Green new deal

Republican candidates

Donald Trump

In a speech at a White House event, Donald Trump said that the Green New Deal would "kill millions of jobs. It'll crush the dreams of the poorest Americans and disproportionately harm minority communities. I will not stand for it. We will defend the environment, but we will also defend American sovereignty, American prosperity, and we will defend American jobs." [source, as of 2019-07-08]

Mark Sanford

Mark Sanford's campaign website does not include a position on the Green New Deal.

His website says about climate change, "I’ve seen first hand rising sea levels over the course of my life at our family farm in the low country of South Carolina. In areas where pine trees once stood, there are now salt flats. On this issue, the scientific consensus fits with what I’ve seen firsthand, and that is that it's real. I think it's important to listen to what the scientific community has said here. After all, It makes no sense to say that one believes in the modern advances of science and the way they can cure and heal the human body, but then discount what science says in other areas of our lives. The problem in my view has not been in whether or not it may be real, but in how we do something about it. I do not believe in things like the Kyoto Protocol, that would tie America and Western Europe to one standard, but hold China and India to a completely different standard, even though the overwhelming growth of new emissions will come these two places." [source, as of 2019-09-10]

Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh said during a debate, "I don't want a Green New Deal. I don't want the Democrats coming in and just re-revolutionizing the whole American economy, to a heavy hand of the government, but if Republicans don't sit at the table and acknowledge it's a problem, that's going to happen." [source, as of 2019-09-24]

Bill Weld

Bill Weld said in an interview about the Green New Deal, "You know, I’ve got to study that more than I have. It sounds pretty expensive, and I think some of what’s coming out of the left hand of the Democratic Party is probably more than I could sit still for. But I do think that, at bottom, Europe has its monuments and its cathedrals, and we’ve got our mountains and our valleys and our rivers and our streams, and we better damn well take care of them." [source, as of 2019-03-05]

Democratic candidates

Joe Biden

Joe Biden's campaign website says the Green New Deal is a "crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face. It powerfully captures two basic truths, which are at the core of his plan: the United States urgently needs to embrace greater ambition on an epic scale to meet the scope of this challenge, and our environment and our economy are completely and totally connected."

"As president, Biden will lead the world to address the climate emergency and lead through the power of example, by ensuring the U.S. achieves a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050." [source, as of 2019-08-20]

Michael Bloomberg

Mike Bloomberg said in a speech, "It’s also been great to see so many fellow Democrats embrace the idea of a Green New Deal. That idea has been around for a very long time. And we’ve been working on the issue, but the last time that it was in the public zeitgeist was back in 2009 and 2010 when Democrats controlled the Congress and the White House. And the big idea then was cap and trade and that did not get through Congress. When it happened that it didn't get through Congress, a lot of people throw up their hands and said there was no hope. I refuse to accept that. I don't think we can accept that. This isn't a choice. You just have to understand there’s an issue here."

Bloomberg's campaign website says, "Mike Bloomberg is one of America’s leading climate activists, and plans to put an unprecedented focus on climate in the general election, and make climate one of his top priorities as president." [source, as of 2019-12-11]

Cory Booker

Cory Booker's campaign website says, "Cory was an original cosponsor of the Green New Deal resolution in the Senate because he believes we need to act with an urgency and force that meets the scale of the challenge that we face. As president, Cory will unite Americans to heal our atmosphere, our lands, and our communities with a bold vision for achieving a 100% clean energy economy quickly and equitably. Together, we will create millions of new high-paying jobs building the energy technologies, infrastructure, buildings, and vehicles of the future. We will invent new technologies and materials as innovative and resilient as we are. And we will be a moral leader on the world stage." [source, as of 2019-09-11]

Pete Buttigieg

Pete Buttigieg's campaign website says, "Transforming our economy and ensuring a clean and prosperous future for our children is an audacious yet achievable goal. It is also crucial to remain competitive in a changing economy. The first step of our plan is a bold and comprehensive set of targets and actions—working with Congress and existing executive authorities—to implement a bold and achievable Green New Deal. That is why we are setting a realistic plan to become a net-zero emissions society no later than 2050." [source, as of 2019-09-11]

Julián Castro

Julián Castro's campaign website says, "Together, we will direct $10 trillion in federal, state, local, and private investments over the next decade to create ten million good paying jobs, transition away from fossil fuels, build a 100 percent clean-energy economy, and lead the world in the 21st century. We will mobilize America around this mission for a historic investment in the American people and our planet. That’s the benefit of a Green New Deal: we will build a 100 percent clean energy economy that both combats the climate crisis and tackles structural inequality. This issue is not only about saving the planet, it’s about serving its people." [source, as of 2019-09-11]

Tulsi Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard said in an interview on The View, "I think we need to take serious action to address climate change. I have some concerns with the Green New Deal and about some of the vagueness of the language in there, so I have not co-sponsored that resolution." [source, as of 2019-02-20]

Kamala D. Harris

Kamala Harris' campaign website says, "With American ingenuity and imagination, we can forge a Green New Deal to tackle the climate crisis, build a clean economy that creates good-paying jobs for the future, and confront environmental injustice head on."

She wrote in a post online, "For too long, we have been governed by lawmakers who are beholden to big oil and big coal. They have refused to act on climate change. So it’s on us to speak the truth, rooted in science fact, not science fiction. Here’s the truth: climate change is real, and it is an existential threat to our country, our planet, and our future. With each passing day, the imminent threat of climate change grows — and we see it in everything from more instances of extreme weather to rapidly melting glaciers. According to a harrowing report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we have a shrinking window to take drastic action to cut carbon emissions and make meaningful change to save our planet. The Green New Deal is a bold plan to drastically shift our country to 100% clean and renewable energy. We will repair our country’s crumbling infrastructure, upgrade buildings across the nation, and dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions." [source, as of 2019-08-20]

Amy Klobuchar

Amy Klobuchar's campaign website says that, "She is a co-sponsor of a Green New Deal" [source, as of 2019-08-28]

Beto O'Rourke

Beto O'Rourke's campaign website says, "To have any chance at limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and preventing the worst effects of climate change, the latest science demands net-zero emissions by 2050. By investing in infrastructure, innovation, and in our people and communities, we can achieve this ambition, which is in line with the 2050 emissions goal of the Green New Deal, in a way that grows our economy and shrinks our inequality."

O'Rourke states the following as part of his climate change plan: "Mobilize $5 trillion to combat climate change, with significant investments in infrastructure, innovation, and our people and communities. And by mobilizing over $1 trillion through grants and investments into our communities, Beto will be able to create sustainable housing and methods of public transportation, while improving the public health outcomes of those impacted by pollution and climate change." [source, as of 2019-08-27]

Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders supports the Green New Deal. His campaign website says, "The climate crisis is not only the single greatest challenge facing our country; it is also our single greatest opportunity to build a more just and equitable future, but we must act immediately."

His campaign website states the following priorities: "Reaching 100 percent renewable energy for electricity and transportation by no later than 2030 and complete decarbonization by 2050 at latest. Ending unemployment by creating 20 million jobs needed to solve the climate crisis. Directly invest an historic $16.3 trillion public investment toward these efforts. A just transition for workers. Declaring climate change a national emergency. Saving American families money by weatherizing homes and lowering energy bills, building affordable and high-quality, modern public transportation, providing grants and trade-in programs for families and small businesses to purchase high-efficiency electric vehicles, and rebuilding our inefficient and crumbling infrastructure, including deploying universal, affordable high-speed internet. Supporting small family farms by investing in ecologically regenerative and sustainable agriculture. Justice for frontline communities. Commit to reducing emissions throughout the world. Meeting and exceeding our fair share of global emissions reductions. Making massive investments in research and development. Expanding the climate justice movement. Investing in conservation and public lands to heal our soils, forests, and prairie lands. This plan will pay for itself over 15 years. We will pay for the massive investment we need to reverse the climate crisis by: Making the fossil fuel industry pay for their pollution, through litigation, fees, and taxes, and eliminating federal fossil fuel subsidies. Generating revenue from the wholesale of energy produced by the regional Power Marketing Authorities. Scaling back military spending on maintaining global oil dependence. Collecting new income tax revenue from the 20 million new jobs created by the plan. Reduced need for federal and state safety net spending due to the creation of millions of good-paying, unionized jobs. Making the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share." [source, as of 2019-08-23]

Thomas Steyer

Tom Steyer's campaign website says, "I will challenge Congress to pass vital legislation to enact a Green New Deal and provide additional funding to protect the country against climate and weather-related natural disasters. If Congress refuses to act expeditiously, I will not hesitate to use the emergency powers of the presidency to protect the American public from the climate crisis, just as I would use those powers to protect our country from a hostile military invasion." [source, as of 2019-09-10]

Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren wrote in a Medium post, "The world must limit warming to below 1.5° C to avoid the most catastrophic outcomes, cutting carbon pollution roughly in half by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. As the world’s largest historical carbon polluter, the United States has a special responsibility to lead the way. That’s why I’m an original supporter of the Green New Deal, which challenges us to go above and beyond — to launch a ten-year mobilization through 2030 to achieve net-zero domestic greenhouse gas emissions as fast as possible." [source, as of 2019-09-03]

Andrew Yang

Andrew Yang's campaign website says, "The Green New Deal has done a great job in starting the conversation, and its goals of lowering emissions, converting to renewable energy, and creating good paying jobs are commendable. We need to strive for these goals and set up a realistic plan utilizing all options in order to get to a fully sustainable economy ahead of 2050. Oil companies will stop getting subsidized under my plan. The rest of us will see cheaper energy costs, better air quality, and new, local jobs that we can use to support our families." [source, as of 2019-08-28]

Green candidates

Howie Hawkins

Howie Hawkins' campaign website says, "Our ecosocialist Green New Deal encompasses two major programs, an Economic Bill of Rights and a Green Economy Reconstruction Program. The Economic Bill of Rights will finally fulfill President Roosevelt’s 1944 call upon Congress to develop programs to secure basic economic human rights for all. The Green Economy Reconstruction Program will not only build a 100% clean energy system by 2030, but will reconstruct all economic sectors for ecological sustainability, from agriculture and manufacturing to housing and transportation. The Economic Bill of Rights will be realized through ongoing programs of public provision. The Green Economy Reconstruction Program will be realized through a plan of public capital investments of 10 to 20 years depending on the sector. Implementing the Green New Deal will require ecosocialism—social ownership in key sectors in order to democratically plan the coordinated reconstruction of all economic sectors for ecological sustainability." [source, as of 2020-07-09]

Libertarian candidates

Jo Jorgensen

Jo Jorgensen's campaign website does not include a position on the Green New Deal. It says the following about the environment: “I will work to remove government barriers to replacing coal-burning and oil-burning power plants in the United States with safe, non-polluting, high-tech nuclear power plants – and allowing off-grid use of solar power. Worldwide, I believe we need to consider all scientific & economic knowledge to care for our environment, not cherry-pick data to support a pre-determined outcome. Most pollution is generated in developing countries, so reducing pollution worldwide requires cost-efficient zero emission energy sources like nuclear.” [source, as of 2020-07-28]


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