The 2020 Democratic presidential primary is already shaping up to be the most climate-centered election in modern history.
Some candidates in the crowded field crafted multi-thousand-word proposals that provide clear paths forward. Others have done little more than promise to reenter the U.S. into the 2016 Paris climate agreement ― a pledge that one 2020 contender dismissed during a debate as “kindergarten.” A candidate who dropped out last month ran solely on a book-length stack of climate policies.
Even as Democratic Party leaders quash efforts to organize an official debate on the climate crisis, TV networks stepped in to hold climate forums with the Democratic candidates. The first, CNN’s marathon seven-hour affair, is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
Ahead of the event, we put together a cheat sheet to help readers understand the policies each campaign has put forward. This is by no means a comprehensive accounting of the proposals, but it offers a quick way to compare the candidates.
We excluded low-polling candidates who so far have added little to the climate debate, such as former Rep. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania and Miramar, Florida, Mayor Wayne Messam. We included scores from Data for Progress on candidates whose proposals the left-leaning think tank analyzed, as well as some answers candidates submitted in response to a recent survey by The Washington Post.
The list also includes Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who until last month was the race’s climate candidate, for comparison.
On Stage
The former vice president took heat earlier this year after Reuters reported that his campaign was charting a “middle ground” approach to climate change. Biden responded with a hefty proposal, based on the Green New Deal, to decarbonize the economy by midcentury.
His plans for new research funding for more efficient nuclear reactors and plans for public electric vehicle charging stations excited some, while a shifting position on fossil fuels raised alarms.
Cost: $1.7 trillion over a decade, but Biden hopes private, state and local investments bring the figure to “more than $5 trillion”
Jobs promised: “More than 10 million”
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Unclear.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: Biden, long a critic of nuclear power, opens the door to “small modular nuclear reactors at half the construction cost of today’s reactors.” The plan also includes “more than 500,000” public charging ports for electric vehicles by 2030.
What The Wonks Criticize: The campaign addresses fossil fuels in only vague terms. Biden, whose campaign includes a former natural gas executive, made clear that fossil fuels could still play a role when sparring on the debate stage with Inslee.
Zeros Out Emissions By: No later than 2050
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (B+), 350 Action (👍), Data for Progress (Thorough)
The New Jersey senator was among the first to throw his weight behind the Green New Deal last year and sign on to the resolution. His plan puts a unique focus on poor, minority communities that often suffer the worst pollution ― which could prove advantageous, as the lead contamination crisis in Newark, where Booker served as mayor from 2006 to 2013, “dredges up uncomfortable memories,” as ABC News put it, of past water scandals.
Cost: $3 trillion by 2030
Jobs promised: Unspecified “millions”
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Supports ban.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: The plan calls for establishing a $50 billion-per-year U.S. Environmental Justice Fund “charged with coordinating the most ambitious-ever federal effort to advance environmental justice and invest in communities long left behind.” It also prioritizes protecting and restoring public lands.
What The Wonks Criticize: The plan lacks details, and risks being overshadowed by Newark’s lead contamination crisis.
Zeros Out Emissions By: 100% carbon neutral economy by 2045
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (A-), 350 Action (👍👍👍), Data for Progress (Very Thorough)
The South Bend, Indiana, mayor said the climate crisis helped inspire his unlikely run for the White House, and credited his age ― he’s just 37 ― for giving him a unique appreciation of the threat. Yet he has taken a piecemeal approach to climate policy so far. He joined calls for establishing a national Climate Corps, backed a climate tax and dividend scheme and promised to “at least quadruple” federal research spending on renewable power and energy storage technology.
Cost: At least $2.5 trillion
Jobs promised: 3 million
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Supports ban, but only on new fracking.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: The plan calls for “net-zero emissions for all new heavy-duty vehicles, buses, rail, ships, and aircrafts” by 2040. Including airplanes is a unique goal, given how far behind electric planes are compared to other forms of electrified vehicles.
What The Wonks Criticize: The plan promises a thriving “carbon removal” industry by 2040, and hints that it would include paying farmers to sequester carbon, but it lacks details and, as its worded, leaves open the possibility of carbon capture for continued fossil fuel use.
Zeros Out Emissions By: 2050
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (B), 350 Action (👍👍), Data for Progress (Thorough)
The former housing and urban development secretary stood out early on for his proposals to overhaul drinking water infrastructure and combat the sort of lead contamination that plagues poor, predominantly minority cities such as Newark and Flint, Michigan. His campaign’s focus on communities of color adds extra weight to his justice-centered proposals.
Cost: $10 trillion in public and private investment
Jobs Promised: 10 million
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Unclear.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: Having positioned himself as arguably the most progressive candidate on immigration, Castro’s calls to create a new “climate refugee” status and establish a program to resettle migrants from low-lying islands carries extra weight.
What The Wonks Criticize: The plan’s “Economic Guarantee for Fossil Fuel Workers” offers few details despite being pivotal to winning support for the policy. It also makes no mention of nuclear power.
Zeros Out Emissions By: 2045, with at least 50% cuts by 2030
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (B), 350 Action (👍👍), Data for Progress (Thorough)
Kamala Harris
The California senator was among the last to release a climate plan, with her latest out early Wednesday morning ahead of CNN’s climate forum. Harris leans heavily on existing legislation, including the Climate Equity Act she co-sponsored with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), as well as Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley’s bill to transition to zero-emissions vehicles.
Cost: $10 trillion in unspecified “public and private spending over the next 10 years”
Jobs Promised: “Millions”
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Unclear.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: Harris’ proposal prominently features a promise to designate 30% of U.S. land and ocean for conservation.
What The Wonks Criticize: The plan breaks little new ground. It also touts Harris’ record of “holding polluters accountable” as California’s attorney general, but under her leadership, the Golden State’s top law enforcement office failed to join high-profile investigations in New York and Massachusetts into oil giants’ efforts to obscure the realities of climate change.
Zeros Out Emissions By: 2045
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (B+), 350 Action (👍👍), Data for Progress (Thorough)
The Minnesota senator’s approach to climate change focuses on reversing the Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda and putting the United States back on the course set under former President Barack Obama. Klobuchar also endorsed the Green New Deal resolution and vowed to introduce “sweeping” emissions legislation within her first 100 days in office.
Cost: $2 trillion, with another $1 trillion in bonds
Jobs promised: Unspecified
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Does not support ban.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: While she lets an unspecified call for a Green New Deal do the heavy lifting on her proposal, Klobuchar promises a carbon pricing scheme “that does not have a regressive impact on Americans.”
What The Wonks Criticize: It’s vague and light on details.
Zeros Out Emissions By: 2050
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (C+), 350 Action (👍👍), Data for Progress (Thorough)
During the former Texas congressman’s bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last year, he bolstered his state’s oil and gas industry. He touted his record of voting to lift the export ban on oil and gas. After a kerfuffle with activists in which O’Rourke signed the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge, violated it, then renewed his commitment, his campaign became the first to release a comprehensive climate plan. The proposal, which helped set the tone for other campaigns, lays out a plan to make the United States carbon neutral by mid-century.
Cost: $1.5 trillion over a decade, but O’Rourke hopes to spur “at least $4 trillion” in related spending
Jobs promised: Unspecified
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Supports ban, but only on new fracking.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: The plan calls for establishing the “first-ever, net-zero emissions by 2030 carbon budget for federal lands” and requiring all federal permitting decisions “to fully account for climate costs and community impacts.”
What The Wonks Criticize: The plan’s vagueness. Inslee, who put tackling the climate crisis at the center of his 2020 bid before dropping out of the race last month, called the plan “empty rhetoric” and said O’Rourke “will need to answer why he did not lead on climate change in Congress.”
Zeros Out Emissions By: 2050
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (B-), 350 Action (👍👍), Data for Progress (Thorough)
The Vermont senator’s proposal is the most ambitious in scope and spending. The plan is also unique in how it finances its budget, in its proposals to redistribute wealth and in its ideas to right the original New Deal’s racist, sexist legacy.
Cost: $16.3 trillion over the next decade
Jobs promised: 20 million
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Supports ban.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: Sanders would use military cuts and tax hikes on the wealthy to pay for the plan. The plan also includes a blueprint to nationalize electricity production and expand public- and worker-owned grocery stores and food processing plants.
What The Wonks Criticize: Sanders’ firm stance against nuclear power and carbon capture technology jeopardizes a focus on emissions cuts.
Zeros Out Emissions By: 2030 for electricity and transportation, 2050 for the full economy
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (A), 350 Action (👍👍👍), Data for Progress (Very Thorough)
The Warren campaign’s motto is “I have a plan for that.” On climate, the Massachusetts senator has several. Warren has plans to eliminate drilling on public lands, decarbonize much of the U.S. military by 2030, put America’s public lands to use in the fight against climate change, require companies to disclose climate risk, use trade policy to lower emissions, and start a green manufacturing boom. On Tuesday, she released an overarching proposal that also adopts key energy components from former climate candidate Jay Inslee’s library of policies.
Cost: $3 trillion over the next decade
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Supports ban on public lands.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
Jobs promised: “Millions”
What Stands Out: The Warren campaign’s plans are rooted in the senator’s long-held belief that eliminating the corruptive political influence of fossil fuel companies is the key to comprehensive reform.
What The Wonks Criticize: Some on the left say Warren’s calls for “economic patriotism” and restrictive intellectual property rules on clean energy technology risk slowing global decarbonization and unfairly profiting off countries that are hardest-hit by the climate crisis.
Zeros Out Emissions By: 2028 for new buildings, 2030 for new vehicles and 2035 for the electrical grid. “As fast as possible” economy-wide.
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (A-), 350 Action (👍👍👍), Data for Progress (Very Thorough)
The venture capitalist became the primary’s climate doomsayer when, during a debate, he suggested that Americans may need to abandon the coasts and head for higher ground — and that a universal basic income program like his would help fund their relocation. His campaign made a name for itself championing unusual policies, and its climate plan is no different ― he’s the only major candidate to embrace geoengineering.
Cost: $4.87 trillion over 20 years
Jobs promised: Unspecified
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Does not support ban.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: Geoengineering
What The Wonks Criticize: Also geoengineering
Zeros Out Emissions By: 2035 for the electric grid, 2040 for the transportation sector and 2049 for the full economy
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (C+), 350 Action (👍👍), Data for Progress (Thorough)
Who Won’t Be On The CNN Stage:
The Colorado senator veers away from the Green New Deal in favor of a more centrist approach that will “endure across American elections and administrations.” His proposal puts a focus on rural communities and offers policy rebrands that could make federal programs more palatable to conservative voters.
Cost: $1 trillion over 10 years, meant to spur $10 trillion in private spending
Jobs promised: 10 million in 10 years
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Unclear.
Fracking? Does not support ban.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: Bennet’s plan promises to reduce food waste 75% by 2030, targeting a significant but under-discussed source of emissions and waste. It rebrands popular public funding programs for climate proposals as Climate X Options.
What The Wonks Criticize: The plan calls for a Next Generation Climate Board of Directors “comprised of youth leaders to ensure that their energy and ideas are part of the solution,” though it’s unclear how such a panel would work. It also outlines a vision for states to compete for green infrastructure funding, which adds an extra barrier to making long-overdue upgrades.
Zeros Out Emissions By: 2050
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (D+), 350 Action (❌ 👍), Data for Progress (Incomplete)
Bill de Blasio
New York City’s mayor kicked off his long shot presidential bid with a press conference touting the Big Apple’s version of a Green New Deal. But while the nation’s biggest city has made strides on cutting emissions and requiring building owners to become more efficient, the achievement de Blasio is most fond of promoting ― divesting the city’s pension funds from fossil fuels ― has yet to actually happen. Nor does the candidate have a comprehensive climate plan to point to as a national plan.
Cost: Unclear
Jobs: Unclear
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Supports ban.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: Under his administration, the New York City Council passed a historic Green New Deal-style bill to cap emissions from big buildings, and the months of implementation ahead could offer important lessons for scaling such a program nationally.
What The Wonks Criticize: Lack of details
Zeros Out Emissions By: Unclear
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (C), 350 Action (👍👍👍)
The two-term Democratic governor of Montana says climate change is “one of the defining challenges of our time” and has vowed to fight it head-on, but his record has many on the left unconvinced. He worked to protect the state’s coal industry, supported the development of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and blasted the Obama administration’s efforts to rein in greenhouse gas emissions. Bullock has the lowest climate rankings of any Democrat left in the race.
Cost: Unspecified. His campaign has said his approach would include investing in more efficient infrastructure and aggressively expanding renewable energy.
Jobs: Unspecified
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Does not support a ban.
Fracking? Does not support a ban.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Unclear.
What Stands Out: Bullock has not put forward a detailed proposal.
What The Wonks Criticize: A lot: supporting Keystone XL, dismissing the Green New Deal, not signing the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge … the list goes on.
Zeros Out Emissions By: 2040 or earlier
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (D), 350 Action (❌ ❌ ❌)
The centrist former Maryland congressman has made his firm opposition to the Green New Deal clear. But he released a plan earlier than many candidates, charting a path to net-zero emissions by mid-century.
Cost: $4 trillion, including $5 billion annually for negative emissions technologies, including carbon capture, and a five-fold bump in funding for federal green energy programs. It also includes $20 billion for a so-called “Carbon Throughway,” an infrastructure project to transport, sequester and reuse captured carbon dioxide.
Jobs promised: Unspecified. The Carbon Throughway is expected to create “tens of thousands” of jobs.
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Does not support ban.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: Delaney has a unique approach to investing in controversial carbon capture technology and makes a direct pitch to labor, particularly construction unions that have opposed efforts to eliminate fossil fuels.
What The Wonks Criticize: Environmentalists are quick to call carbon capture a “false” solution that elongates the runway for fossil fuels.
Zeros Out Emissions By: 2050
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (C-), 350 Action (❌ ❌), Data for Progress (Very Incomplete)
Tulsi Gabbard
The Hawaii congresswoman led the charge on climate well before it was the defining issue of the 2020 primary. In 2017, she first proposed the Off Fossil Fuels Act, vowing to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2035. The proposal won widespread praise in 2018 but now seems outdated in light of the Green New Deal. Gabbard has neither signed on to the Green New Deal nor released a full climate proposal of her own.
Cost: Unspecified
Jobs Promised: Unspecified
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Supports ban.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out:
What The Wonks Criticize: Gabbard lacks a detailed plan. Instead, her climate platform lists actions she’s taken as a member of Congress.
Zeros Out Emissions By: Unclear, but she promises 100% renewable energy by 2035
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (B), 350 Action (👍👍)
The Ohio congressman opposed the Green New Deal resolution but championed what he called a “new industrial policy” focused on boosting U.S. manufacturing. On the debate stage, he’s called for focusing on the production of green technologies and an industrial plan that ramps up union membership. Ryan’s framing of climate policy as a “jobs plan” offers a vision of how Democrats can sell such policies to workers in the industrial Midwest.
Cost: “Over $2 trillion” for infrastructure spending, citing an American Society of Civil Engineers estimate
Jobs promised: Unspecified
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Does not support ban.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: The Ryan campaign’s thinly detailed agriculture proposal calls for redirecting an unspecified portion of food subsidies from corn and other grains, which take in 60%, to vegetables and fruits, which receive only 0.45%.
What The Wonks Criticize: The plan lacks details.
Zeros Out Emissions By: Unclear
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (D+), 350 Action (👍)
The billionaire activist who founded climate action group NextGen America promised to take the mantle of “climate candidate” from Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who dropped out in August. But Steyer’s late entry into the primary race left environmentalists scratching their heads. His polling has been too low to make it onto the debate stage, and his climate proposal offers little to set it apart from bigger-name contenders.
Cost: $2 trillion
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Unclear, though he’s funded anti-fracking campaigns across the country.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
Jobs promised: Unspecified “millions,” with at least 1 million in a Climate Conservation Corps
What Stands Out: The plan would declare climate change a national emergency.
What The Wonks Criticize: The proposal lacks specifics, and a national emergency could open the door to potentially dangerous executive powers.
Zeros Out Emissions By: 100% carbon neutral economy by 2045, reduce asthma-causing air pollution by 2030
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (B+), 350 Action (👍👍👍), Data for Progress (Thorough)
The self-help guru’s love-powered campaign offers little for the fossil fuel industry to like. Williamson backed the Green New Deal and vowed to appoint Cabinet chiefs who would wage war against the oil, gas and coal industries. But she’s an even more credible antagonist of industrial agriculture and has used her time on the debate stage to call attention to genetically modified foods and subsidies.
Cost: Unspecified. Simply calls for “massive investments” in green energy.
Jobs promised: Unspecified. The plan calls for job training programs to transition fossil fuel workers into careers in renewable energies and building renovation.
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Supports ban.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: Her proposal emphasizes that cutting food waste, promoting plant-based diets and better managing land are essential for limiting planetary warming. It also would require corporations to commit to “a series” of emissions targets that get them to zero by 2050 or face fines.
What The Wonks Criticize: Williamson’s platform lacks many specifics. Still, some environmental groups say she’s “on the right track.”
Zeros Out Emissions By: “2050 at the latest”
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (B), 350 Action (👍👍👍)
Out, But For Comparison:
The Washington governor ended his climate-centered bid for the White House in August. But his team produced nearly 200 pages of impressively detailed climate policy, which Inslee offered as an open-source governing document for the eventual Democratic nominee.
Cost: $9 trillion, with three-quarters coming from private investors
Jobs: 8 million
Bans:
Fossil fuel drilling on public lands? Supports ban.
Fracking? Supports ban.
Subsidies to fossil fuel companies? Supports ban.
What Stands Out: The entire package of plans clearly designated different federal agencies to take on the work.
What The Wonks Criticize: Inslee’s plans were held up as the “gold standard,” though in comparison to the Sanders proposal, some might say the governor lacked revolutionary ambition.
Zeros Out Emissions By: 2030 for most sectors, 2050 economy-wide
Ranking By Advocates: Greenpeace (A-), 350 Action (👍👍👍), Data for Progress (Very Thorough)
This post has been updated with new Greenpeace and Data for Progress rankings, more details on the criticism Booker faces over Newark’s water crisis, and the latest spending figure Klobuchar put out.
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