When future generations — or simply young people today — look back at the topics of recent U.S. presidential debates, they will be stunned that America’s political journalists ignored climate change, the issue that will overwhelm most others in coming years. In essence, debate moderators have pretended climate change doesn’t exist.
Not a single question on climate change was asked by any moderators in the three 2016 presidential debates, even though Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton had diametrically opposing views on climate science and policy. The same silence occurred in the previous round of debates in 2012, and also 2000, and 1996. And now climate change has been ruled out as a topic at the first 2020 Presidential debate this Tuesday in Cleveland.
The consequences on American policy of this willful climate silence during debates has been remarkably far-reaching, especially during Donald Trump’s presidency. The U.S. is the only country in the world to leave the Paris Climate Agreement, and Mr. Trump has ignored entreaties by other world leaders to use other means to make progress on the issue. Domestically, the Trump Administration has repealed or attempted to rollback every climate protection it can, especially limits on greenhouse gas emissions from most major sources, including power plants, cars, and oil and gas drilling.
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