Gov. Jack Markell (D-Delaware) is calling on Democratic presidential contenders to make climate change a more prominent campaign issue.
Markell joined three other governors and billionaire Democratic donor Tom Steyer Tuesday in asking the candidates to do more than acknowledge the issue. In Tuesday night’s first Democratic presidential primary debate and beyond, they want to hear detailed solutions for addressing climate change.
Markell says he believes voters also want to hear more.
I think this is one of the issues where people are often ahead of elected officials," said Markell on a conference call with reporters. "They understand the importance of dealing with the threat of climate change but they also understand there’s enormous opportunity in these investments to put people to work, to reduce the health impacts and improve the environment."
Specifically, Markell wants to see how candidates connect dealing with climate change to economic development.
I’m most interested in understanding how the candidates view dealing with climate change within their broader economic development approach," said Markell. "For too long, climate change has only been talked about as an environmental issue. It’s so much more than that. You see so many opportunities in terms of economic development, job creation and workforce development that can really have a positive impact."
Markell has previously pointed to projects like Calpine’s new gas-fired power plant at the Garrison Energy Center in Dover as example of a clean energy investment that lowers emissions while creating jobs and stimulating the economy.
During his tenure as governor, Markell has also offered a plan to reduce Delaware’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030 while ordering state agencies to find ways to lower their greenhouse gas emissions and consider climate change issues in state-funded projects.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) and Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) joined Markell in the effort to elevate the climate change issue. Their call was made in conjunction with Steyer’s NextGen Climate advocacy organization. Steyer, a former hedge fund manager and now climate-change activist, spent close to $75 million on political campaigns during the 2014 cycle.
