But recently and suddenly, his rhetoric has shifted. This week, while announcing a major weakening of environmental protections, he said of climate change, “nothing’s a hoax about that. It’s a very serious subject.”
Has Donald Trump suddenly become worried about rising climate pollution and its impact on our health and economy? Did he read through the National Climate Assessment and change his long-held view on the science of climate change?
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More likely, he read the polls. And they make clear that Donald Trump’s record on climate is a political vulnerability.
Don’t take it from me. There are more polls than I can count. Polls that, of course, show that progressives in earlyprimary states are deeply concerned about climate change, but more importantly, we’ve seen people in key states who are also increasingly worried about this issue.
In fact, in the largest swing state of Florida, a majority of residents understand the impacts of climate change and want action.
And that’s what is getting President Trump’s attention. He launched his campaign in Florida, called himself an environmentalist in West Palm Beach and even officially moved there, holding a “homecoming” rally — reinforcing the fact that the state will be ground zero for the presidential fight.
Whatever else you can say about Trump, he can read a crowd like few others. If his rhetoric on climate change is shifting, it’s because he senses the politics are now different.
For Trump, the hard math is not that climate pollution in our atmosphere has reached record levels — it’s that he can’t be re-elected without winning Florida, a state on the front line of climate impacts.
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But it’s not just Florida. People across the country are waking up to the stark realities of the climate crisis. From the devastating floods in the Midwest, to what feels like the never-ending fire season in the West, to the more frequent and devastating hurricanes in the Southeast.
That’s why Americans are increasingly prioritizing this issue. They’re demanding that their public officials tackle this crisis head-on with ambitious climate policy. The result must be a transition to a 100 percent clean economy.
Trump may be learning new sound bites on climate change, but actions speak louder than words. The truth is, Donald Trump is still the president and can take real and meaningful action now.
But instead, his administration been making systemic attacks on our air, water and public health for the past three years.
Take clean cars, where the administration isn’t just rolling back a federal clean car standard, but issuing California to take away their right to set their standards for pollution from vehicles.
Just last week, his administration proposed gutting the federal review of projects like pipelines and drilling projects; he threatened to veto a water safety measure around PFOS, a harmful chemical containment; and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pushed ahead to weaken protections from coal-related water pollution.
President Trump has also picked lobbyists and industry insiders for key environmental positions, including putting a coal lobbyist in charge of EPA and an oil and gas lobbyist in charge of the Department of the Interior. It’s no surprise that they’re undoing progress, proposing rules that pollute our air and water, curtailing and cutting critical research funding, and simply discrediting science and scientists.
This isn’t leadership on a “very serious subject.” Let’s call President Trump’s newfound religion on climate what it is — political lip service.
Joe Bonfiglio is the president of EDF Action, the advocacy partner of the Environmental Defense Fund.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
