On the campaign trail (Image: Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The US will produce enough clean energy within 10聽years to power every single home there if Hillary Clinton gets elected, the front-running Democratic presidential candidate promised this week.
鈥淭he reality of climate change is unforgiving no matter what the deniers say,鈥� in Des Moines, Iowa, while unveiling by dramatically expanding the use of renewable energy in the US.
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The proposals include installing more than half a billion solar panels, raising the renewable proportion of US electricity from 7聽to 33聽per cent and shifting support away from fossil fuels. 鈥淲e鈥檒l stop the big giveaways to big oil companies and extend, instead, tax incentives for clean energy,鈥� she said.
Clinton also seized the opportunity to mock the climate-sceptical statements of her Republican rivals, and to draw a sharp distinction between her policies and theirs. In an accompanying video issued on Sunday 26 July, she flashed up statements by several Republican climate rivals including Jeb Bush, who said 鈥淚鈥檓 a sceptic. I鈥檓 not a scientist鈥�.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to believe that people running for president refuse to believe the settled science of climate change,鈥� Clinton said in the video.
Environmental groups broadly welcomed her commitment, but criticised her for ducking questions about whether she supports Keystone XL, the controversial pipeline that would funnel oil from Canada.
鈥淭his is a strong and thoughtful response to the central environmental challenge of our time, global climate change,鈥� says of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental action group in Washington DC.
鈥淐limate change is a crucial issue that the next US president will have to grapple with,鈥� says , of the World Resources Institute in Washington DC. 鈥淪teadfast leadership can help deal with the impacts of extreme weather events and other consequences of a changing climate, while capturing the economic opportunities of transitioning to a low-carbon economy.鈥�
