As wildfires in Canada have sent masses of smoke over the United States this week, engulfing much of the Northeast in a yellow haze of hazardous air pollution, scientists are clear that we are seeing the effects of climate change. But the Republicans campaigning for the presidency have largely downplayed the issue and rejected policies that would slow rising temperatures.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, even as the country experienced one of its worst days on record for air quality, with New York City especially hard-hit, former Vice President Mike Pence said in a town-hall event on CNN that \u201cradical environmentalists\u201d were exaggerating the threat of climate change.<\/p>\n
His response reflected what has become a pattern among Republican officials. Many of the candidates acknowledge that climate change is real, in contrast to party members\u2019 years of outright denial. But they have not acknowledged how serious it is, and have almost universally rejected the scientific consensus that the United States, like all countries, must transition rapidly to renewable energy in order to limit the most catastrophic impacts.<\/p>\n
Here is a look at where some of the major Republican candidates stand.<\/p>\n
As president, Donald J. Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental regulations, mostly aimed at reducing planet-warming emissions and protecting clean air and water; appointed cabinet members who were openly dismissive of the threat of climate change, including Scott Pruitt as head of the Environmental Protection Agency; and withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, under which almost every country had committed to try to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.<\/p>\n
President Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement and undid many of Mr. Trump\u2019s policies, but the damage may not be fully reversible. A report last year from researchers at Yale and Columbia found that the United States\u2019 environmental performance had plummeted in relation to other countries as a result of the Trump administration\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump has given no indication that his approach would be different in a second term. He has repeatedly minimized the severity of climate change, including claiming falsely that sea levels are projected to rise only \u215b of an inch over 200 to 300 years. But according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sea levels are rising by that amount every year.<\/p>\n
Gov. Ron DeSantis leads a state, Florida, that is on the front lines of climate change: It has been hit hard by hurricanes, which are becoming more frequent and more severe as the Atlantic Ocean gets warmer.<\/p>\n
But Mr. DeSantis has dismissed concern about climate change as a pretext for \u201cleft-wing stuff\u201d and said on Fox News last month, \u201cI\u2019ve always rejected the politicization of the weather.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has, however, taken significant steps to fortify the state against stronger storms and rising waters. Among other things, he appointed the state\u2019s first \u201cchief resilience officer\u201d and backed the Resilient Florida Program, which has sent hundreds of millions of dollars to vulnerable communities to fund projects like building sea walls and improving drainage systems.<\/p>\n
Scientists support these sorts of adaptation efforts, because the climate has already changed enough that even aggressive emission reductions will not avert all the effects. But they are also clear that such measures are not enough on their own.<\/p>\n
Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, has acknowledged that climate change is real and caused by humans, but she has generally rejected governmental efforts to reduce emissions. Her advocacy group Stand for America said that \u201cliberal ideas would cost trillions and destroy our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
As ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, Ms. Haley was closely involved in withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement. At the time, she said, \u201cJust because we pulled out of the Paris accord doesn\u2019t mean we don\u2019t believe in climate protection.\u201d Over the next three years, the Trump administration systematically reversed climate protections.<\/p>\n
But Ms. Haley has supported greater use of carbon capture technology to remove carbon from the air. She and some other Republicans \u2014 including another presidential candidate, Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota \u2014 have presented this as a way to limit climate change while continuing to use fossil fuels. Many experts agree that carbon capture could be a powerful tool, but it is unlikely to be sufficient on its own, in part because of its high cost.<\/p>\n
Mr. Pence has acknowledged that climate change is real. He said during the 2016 campaign, \u201cThere\u2019s no question that the activities that take place in this country and in countries around the world have some impact on the environment and some impact on climate.\u201d<\/p>\n
But that assertion falls short of the scientific consensus that human activity is the primary driver of climate change. He has also downplayed the severity, like in his comments this week that \u201cradical environmentalists\u201d were exaggerating climate change\u2019s effects. And as vice president, Mr. Pence had a hand in Mr. Trump\u2019s defiantly anti-climate agenda, including defending the decision to withdraw from the Paris accord by saying Mr. Trump had stood up for \u201cAmerica first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Pence\u2019s political organization, Advancing American Freedom, has denounced \u201cthe left\u2019s climate radicalism\u201d and called for a rejection of \u201cclimate mandates.\u201d It has also called for expediting oil and gas leases and taking other steps to \u201cunleash the full potential\u201d of fossil fuel production in the United States.<\/p>\n
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina has also acknowledged that climate change is occurring, once telling The Post and Courier, his home-state newspaper: \u201cThere is no doubt that man is having an impact on our environment. There is no doubt about that. I am not living under a rock.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, he has opposed most policies that would curb carbon dioxide emissions. During the Obama administration, Mr. Scott challenged a regulation that would have required utilities to move away from coal and adopt wind, solar and other renewable power. During the Trump administration, he argued for dumping the Paris Agreement. And last year, he voted against President Biden\u2019s expansive climate and health legislation that will invest about $370 billion in spending and tax credits over 10 years into clean energy technologies.<\/p>\n