There was a surprise on the debate night. With the widespread effects of Hurricane Helen, which killed at least 160 people, still being felt around the world, climate science was near the top of Tuesday’s vice presidential showdown between Gov. Tim Waltz and Sen. J.D. Vance in New York. Southeast.
Immediately after the opening, which addressed the escalating crisis in the Middle East, CBS host Norah O’Donnell pointed out that climate change would only make storms like Helene worse and asked Vance if he agreed with Donald Trump’s claim that climate change is a “hoax.” Vance was unable to refute the former president’s words, a pattern that was repeated throughout the night.
Instead, he pointed his finger at his opponent. He argued that if Democrats “really believe that climate change is serious, what they would do is get more manufacturing and more energy produced in America.” He said this is because the United States is “the cleanest economy in the world” in terms of “carbon emissions” per “unit of economic output.” He also pushed for investments in nuclear power and natural gas.
It is unclear what Vance meant by “unit of economic output.” But by most indicators, the United States is not a clean economy. The United States has one of the highest per capita carbon emissions, one of the highest annual total emissions, and a mediocre record for carbon emissions per dollar of GDP, most recently ranked as the country’s environmental indicator, the Environmental Performance Index. Ranked 34th in the world in Performance Index). Environmental management, including climate change mitigation.
Walz countered that the Biden-Harris administration has made “massive investments” in green technology through the Inflation Reduction Act, “the largest in the history of the world.” Walz said the law created 200,000 jobs nationwide. (like CNN As noted in our fact check of the debate, some of those jobs may be promised but have not yet been created. It is difficult to determine exactly how many jobs the IRA has triggered.)
In the case of Hurricane Helene, Vance and Walz expressed condolences to the flood victims. As Vance said, ‘It is an incredible, unspeakable human tragedy.’
