Hillary Clinton used the global climate crisis as a weapon for another assault on Donald Trump on Tuesday, enlisting the help of her husband’s former vice-president Al Gore to urge America’s voters not to risk sending a “climate change denier” to the White House.
In a joint address in Miami, Clinton and Gore repeatedly hammered the Republican nominee for his stance on climate change and his belief that global warming is a hoax initiated by the Chinese.
“Climate change is real, it’s urgent, and America can take the lead in the world in addressing it,” Clinton said, promising investment in clean energy.
“We can transform our economy, we can rally the world to cut carbon pollutions and above all we can fulfill our moral obligation to protect the planet. Just remember what is at stake. My opponent is a guy who denies science, who denies climate change every day.”
Yet it was Gore, who lost the 2000 presidential election to George W Bush by less than 500 votes in Florida, who delivered the more powerful message about why the climate crisis is one of the most serious issues in this campaign, and why he believes Clinton is the only candidate who can help solve it.
Praising last year’s Paris climate agreement between nations as a solid starting position, Gore said the country faced a “stark” choice. “The world is on the cusp of either building on the progress of solving the climate crisis, or stepping back, washing our hands of America’s traditional role as a leader in the world,” he said.
During her own 22-minute address to a 1,600-strong crowd at Miami-Dade College, Clinton avoided any mention of the controversies that have dominated the political agenda over the last five days. Instead, she stuck steadfastly to themes of climate change and her policy proposals to “accelerate the transition” towards clean energy in the US.
“I want to see 500 million more solar panels installed in America by the end of my first term,” she said. “Let’s generate enough clean energy to power America.”
Building more energy-efficient buildings and cutting the country’s reliance on oil by one-third would also bring massive economic benefits, the Democratic candidate said.
“We can do all of this and create millions of good paying jobs as we do. The clean energy solutions are being created right here in America. And while we do that, make sure communities are ready for the effects of climate change that are coming right at us,” she said.
That comment referred to the recent impact of Hurricane Matthew on the Caribbean, where the storm killed hundreds, and in the US, which has seen more than 30 deaths, most of them in North Carolina, which is still suffering from significant flooding.
Gore, who won the 2007 Nobel peace prize for his efforts to tackle manmade climate change, highlighted in his movie An Inconvenient Truth, blamed the severity of recent hurricanes on global warming.
“Matthew went from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane in just 36 hours, and that’s unusual.”
Nowhere are the effects of global warming more evident than Florida, Gore said.
Just yesterday there were six more cases of Zika in Miami-Dade County. Changing climate conditions shift the places where these diseases become endemic. Mosquitoes incubate faster and bite more often.
“These and many other consequences are really wake-up calls for us.”
Clinton, too, referenced the threat to Florida, a key swing state. “The impact of climate change goes beyond severe events like hurricanes, it’s a daily reality in Miami. In streets in Miami the ocean is bubbling up through the sewer system. If you need proof climate change is real, there you go,” she said.
She warned: “At the rate we are going, one in eight homes in Florida could be underwater by the end of the century.”
Global warming, she said, had also been cited by the Pentagon as a threat to national security, posing as an example flooding at the US navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, affecting the operations and readiness of the service.
“We can’t afford a candidate who doesn’t accept climate change,” Clinton said. “Maybe he’ll listen to our military leaders who say climate change threatens our security.
“We need a president who believes in science and can lead America in fighting this threat, creating jobs and, yes, saving our planet.”
The final word, however, belonged to Gore, who Clinton said she “couldn’t wait” to have as a White House adviser on climate change.
“Americans have the ability to bring about such a big and important change, the will to change and build a brighter future is itself a renewable resource,” he said, drawing a loud: “That’s a great line, I love that!” from Clinton beside him.
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