When it comes to the Democrat presidential hopefuls toeing the party line on climate change, Joe Biden is near the back of the pack, Greenpeace has concluded.
On Greenpeace's most recent presidential scorecard released Thursday, Joe Biden was graded at a sorry D-, making Biden the second-worst ranked democrat candidate seeking a 2020 term as President of the United States.
The only Democrat candidate that was ranked more poorly was John Hickenlooper Jr., a candidate who has in the past urged his party to keep from veering too far to the left, warning them that it should put a bit of distance between itself and socialism. If not, Hickenlooper said, "we're going to end up reelecting the worst president this country's ever had." Hickenlooper has also not been very supportive of the Green New Deal-a prime factor in determining a candidate's placement on the Greenpeace list.
Greenpeace's ranking was based on answers to two questions that were posed to the presidential candidates. The first was about their support for the Green New Deal. The second was about the candidate's support for replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources.
As part of the older Democrat establishment, Biden has not officially endorsed the Green New Deal that is enthusiastically supported by the younger Democrats such as AOC. Rather, Biden has taken a softer stance on climate issues as he works to bridge the gaping divide between Democrats and Republicans in the spirit of bipartisanship-a stance that has earned him a spot near last place in the eyes of Greenpeace.
The progressive Democrats have proposed a string of climate plans so far in the runup to the next election, with Jay Inslee, who not coincidentally ranked in first place with a A- on Greenpeace's list, proposing a $9 trillion climate change solution, and then Michael Bennet, who proposed a $10 trillion plan. Bennet was not included in Greenpeace's list.
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To no one's surprise, President Donald Trump placed last. There were only two Republican candidates on the list.
Here is how Greenpeace has ranked the 2020 presidential hopefuls:
1 | Jay Inslee (D) | A- |
2 | Bernie Sanders (D) | B+ |
3 | Cory Booker (D) | B+ |
4 | Kirsten Gillibrand (D) | B |
5 | Elizabeth Warren (D) | B |
6 | Tulsi Gabbard (D) | B |
7 | Beto O'Rourke (D) | B- |
8 | Marianne Williamson (D) | C |
9 | Pete Buttigieg (D) | C |
10 | Kamala Harris (D) | C- |
11 | Eric Swalwell (D) | C- |
12 | Amy Klobuchar (D) | C- |
13 | John Delaney (D) | D+ |
14 | Andrew Yang (D) | D+ |
15 | Julian Castro (D) | D+ |
16 | Steve Bullock (D) | D |
17 | Tim Ryan (D) | D- |
18 | Joe Biden (D) | D- |
19 | John Hickenlooper (D) | D- |
20 | Bill Weld (R) | F |
21 | Donald Trump ® | F |
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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Julianne Geiger is a veteran editor, writer and researcher for Oilprice.com, and a member of the Creative Professionals Networking Group. More
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