Jay Inslee Demands Climate Action Now: 'The World's On Fire'

The Washington governor and 2020 Democratic candidate defended his single-issue campaign Sunday.
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Washington governor and Democratic presidential hopeful Jay Inslee is warning that the clock is ticking on the fight against global warming.

“We are the first generation to feel the sting of climate change and we are the last generation that can do something about it,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” Sunday. “And we have got one shot ― that’s the next administration.”

Inslee, who kicked off his run earlier this month as a single-issue candidate focusing on environmentalism, made an emphatic call to action, demanding green initiatives “be the primary, first, foremost and paramount duty of the next administration because the world’s on fire and we’ve got to act, and we’ve got a climate denier in the White House.”

Tapper asked Inslee about the efficacy of staking a presidential campaign on just one issue, but the candidate contended that climate change has far-reaching impacts.

“This is not a single issue,” he said. “It is all the issues.”

The governor pointed to the potential for job growth in solar and wind power industries, seeing an opportunity to bolster the economy by embracing alternative energies.

Inslee also noted that global warming could trigger health conditions such as asthma. Furthermore, in January, the Pentagon identified the environmental crisis as a national security threat, directly contradicting President Donald Trump’s continued denials.

Last month, The Washington Post reported that the White House was seeking to launch a panel of federal scientists through the National Security Council to reassess the government’s conclusions.

According to senior administration officials who spoke with the outlet, the group would include individuals who doubt the seriousness of climate change as well as humans’ contribution to the issue, indicating another effort by the Trump administration to challenge long-established scientific findings.

Meanwhile progressive Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have advocated for the Green New Deal, an ambitious resolution outlining a 10-year plan to address the environment and the economy.

Inslee has not offered an outright endorsement of the idea, but has called it “aspirational” and promises to roll out a plan of his own, according to The Associated Press.

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