Martin O'Malley presidential campaign, 2016/Natural resources

	; ; Former presidential candidate; Martin O'Malley
	Political offices: ; Governor of Maryland; (2007-2015); Mayor of Baltimore; (1999-2007);
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Martin O'Malley suspended his presidential campaign on February 1, 2016.^[1]

This page was current as of the 2016 election.

While campaigning in Iowa on January 23, 2016, Martin O'Malley expressed conditional support for fracking. “Whether or not natural gas is a bridge to a cleaner energy future depends on whether or not we have a national policy to move us to that cleaner future. And I think that a big part of it is having much higher standards in place for protecting the air and the land and the water in the course of the extraction that's already going on in our country,” O’Malley told reporters. He released the following statement on January 24, 2016, to clarify his position: “Ending our reliance on fossil fuels by 2050 is ambitious, and throughout the transition, I support stronger regulation on the fracking that is happening right now. We need a zero-tolerance approach to methane emissions from fracking in the meantime."^[2]

In November 2014, O'Malley said he was "ready to allow drilling for natural gas in Western Maryland, but only if energy companies adhere to some of the most restrictive public health and environmental safeguards in the country," according to The Washington Post.^[3]

In a June 2010 Facebook post, O'Malley stated his opposition to offshore drilling.^[4]

In November 2014, Martin O'Malley expressed his opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline. He posted the following comments on his Facebook page: "It's time to reject the either/or and smallball choices facing us on energy. I hope the Senate rejects ‪#‎KeystoneXL‬ -- it's too much carbon dioxide, and not nearly enough jobs (only about 50 jobs permanent once construction is finished)."^[5]^[6]

In an interview with the New Republic published on January 25, 2016, Martin O'Malley criticized Hillary Clinton’s climate change policy for not being aggressive enough. “Secretary Clinton’s plan can most kindly be summed up as a voluntary solar panel plan for residences. Under her plan the planet would literally burn up. Her approach is much more incremental,” said O’Malley.^[7]

On December 8, 2015, O'Malley wrote a brief op-ed for the Concord Monitor on climate change and clean energy. He said, “I’m the first candidate – and I hope not the last – to put forward a plan to power our country with 100 percent clean, renewable energy by 2050, while ending our reliance on fossil fuels. … As president, I will not only fully implement the Clean Power Plan, I will go further, setting targets for reducing emissions from other large sources and adopting a zero-tolerance policy for methane leaks from current oil and gas production. I will also fight for a cap or tax on carbon emissions and to set a national, cross-sector Renewable Electricity Standard so our nation is powered by 100 percent clean energy within 35 years." He continued, "With so much at stake [at the U.N. Climate Change Conference], it is disappointing that the other Democratic candidates for president haven’t released similarly ambitious plans. Secretary Clinton’s clean energy plan appears to be based on the voluntary adoption of solar panels. And Sen. Sanders’s plan, which he finally released Monday, appears to include weak carbon pollution reduction targets.”^[8]

On October 16, 2015, O'Malley expressed his support for investigating ExxonMobil “for concealing research on fossil fuels’ contribution to climate change,” according to The Huffington Post. O’Malley posted the following tweet: “We held tobacco companies responsible for lying about cancer. Let’s do the same for oil companies & climate change.”^[9]

In June 2014, O'Malley supported a rule created by the Environmental Protection Agency requiring states to reduce carbon emissions 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. He said, "Climate change is transforming the world in profound ways that continue to evolve. We still have time to become great ancestors, and we have a moral obligation to our children and our grandchildren to act now while we can make a difference. I congratulate and thank President Obama for his bold leadership. Today’s announcement is the first federal regulatory action to set carbon pollution standards for existing fossil fuel-fired power plants, the largest single source of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions."^[10]

In April 2007, O'Malley signed the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). According to Maryland's Department of the Environment, "RGGI is the first cap-and-trade program to control carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. The program is aimed primarily at reducing carbon dioxide pollution through a mandatory emissions cap on the electric generating sector, coupled with a market-based trading program to achieve the lowest possible compliance costs through energy efficiency."^[11]

After signing the RGGI, O'Malley said, "I am proud that Maryland is joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which will protect and preserve our communities for future generations. The fight to prevent global warming crosses state lines, and Maryland is proud to join its neighbors in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while protecting our electric industry."^[11]

In April 2007, O’Malley "signed an Executive Order that establishes a Climate Change Commission charged with collectively developing an action plan to address the drivers and causes of climate change, prepare for the likely consequences and impacts of climate change to Maryland with and establish firm benchmarks and timetables for implementing the Commission’s recommendations."^[11]

After signing the executive order, O'Malley said, "Protecting our communities from climate change is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue – it is a Maryland issue. This Executive Order charts a path for the future – one in which we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and work to prevent sea level rise and coastal flooding."^[11]

In June 2013, Martin O'Malley asked the Environmental Protection Agency to grant Carnival Cruise Lines "a waiver from the agency's cleaner-fuel mandate" after the cruise line threatened to stop doing business in Baltimore.^[12]

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