David Gergen on Climate Politics and Public Opinion

Published: May 31, 2019, 8:19 p.m.

b"\\u201cThis is turning out exactly the way scientists predicted, with one exception: it\\u2019s happening faster than they thought,\\u201d says political analyst David Gergen, who served in four presidential administrations. \\u201cThe question is what can we do rapidly that would alleviate this and be fair to all.\\u201d\\n\\nGergen is in favor of urgent acting on climate, but is skeptical of the all-encompassing vision of the Green New Deal. \\u201cThe last thing we need is another fight that leads to a big environmental bill that the minority won't vote for,\\u201d he says referencing the Affordable Care Act, \\u201cand it's only voted for by the majority, and then the minority spends the next five years trying to undo it.\\u201d\\n\\nAt a minimum, Gergen believes Republicans would be in favor of getting the U.S. back into the Paris Accord and setting a reasonable price on carbon. So what keeps Republican lawmakers from signing on to meaningful climate legislation? \\n\\n\\u201cYou have to think that the Republican Party takes a contrary view in part because of the money [from the fossil fuel industry],\\u201d he laments. As someone who grew up in tobacco country and lost his father to cancer, Gergen can\\u2019t help but see the parallels between that industry and oil companies.\\n\\n\\u201cThe science\\u2026 may not be 100% correct and maybe it's only 95% correct,\\u201d he says, \\u201cbut whatever the number is we should have an insurance policy to protect our kids and our grandkids. I mean it\\u2019s just, that\\u2019s just obvious common sense.\\u201d\\n\\nThat common sense, as more and more voters experience more frequent extreme weather, is serving to move the climate debate forward in Washington. \\u201cThere\\u2019s a lot of signs that voters, you know, they may not completely agree with the Green New Deal,\\u201d says Marianne Lavelle, a reporter with InsideClimate News, \\u201cbut they\\u2019re not very happy with having politicians who are just not paying attention to climate and just not doing anything.\\u201d\\n\\nLavelle credits the proponents of the Green New Deal for the new momentum, though they are not necessarily following a radical new playbook. \\u201cThe principle that really motivates the backers of the Green New Deal is considering climate change as an economic policy, not just an environmental policy,\\u201d she explains, adding that the U.S. had already signed on to an environmental and economic framework for addressing climate change at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.\\n\\nAs an climate journalist, Lavelle is especially pleased to see Republicans no longer \\u2013 or at least not as full-throatedly \\u2013 denying climate change, even proposing solutions, however modest. \\u201cThis is the thing that we have tried to get across in our coverage,\\u201d she says. \\u201cFor so many years the discussion was stuck on is climate change happening or not and that is not going to be a productive discussion. But a debate on which approach would be better... is a discussion that could become productive.\\u201d\\n\\nUltimately it is Republican voters who are pushing their legislators to act, since many of them, especially in western states, find their views on energy and conservation at odds with the current administration\\u2019s environmental policies.\\n\\n\\u201cThe vast majority of Western voters say we need to make sure that we protect [public lands] for all Americans,\\u201d notes Lori Weigel, a GOP pollster. \\u201cIt shouldn't be something where economic value or resource extraction is taking priority over the uses that we\\u2019re most familiar with.\\n\\n\\u201cWhen we talk about clean energy, when we talk about solar and wind and being more energy-efficient, honestly, we see very little partisan distinction on those things.\\u201d\\n\\nGuests:\\nDavid Gergen, Professor of Public Service and Founding Director, Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School\\nMarianne Lavelle, Reporter, InsideClimate News \\nLori Weigel, Partner, Public Opinion Strategies\\n\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices"