O'Malley: Sanders 'not good enough' on climate change

Editor's Note: This story was updated Dec. 9 with a response from the Sanders campaign.

Democratic presidential hopeful Martin O'Malley has three words for Bernie Sanders' plan to combat climate change: "not good enough."

O'Malley, the former governor of Maryland, was at a University of Iowa New Leadership Forum on Tuesday where he spoke to a crowd of about 130 about defeating ISIS, raising middle-class wages and easing student debt and then took questions.

Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont also seeking the Democratic nomination for president, released a 16-page plan Monday laying out steps he would take to address climate change, including reducing U.S. emissions 40 percent by 2030 and over 80 percent by 2050, putting a carbon tax in place, eliminating fossil fuel subsidies and making investments in clean energy.

O'Malley's plan, which he unveiled in June, calls for the United States to be powered 100 percent by clean energy by 2050. He says he would create a Clean Energy Jobs Corps to help retrofit buildings to be more energy efficient, and would undertake other measures, such as requiring the federal fleet of 250,000 vehicles "to be subject to low- or zero-emissions purchasing agreements."

Both plans include similar elements — the Sanders plan calls for a 10 million-job Clean-Energy Workforce, for instance — but O'Malley said that his plan goes further and that he has the executive experience to follow up.

"I don't believe that his goals are adequate to the challenge and I also don't believe he actually has any experience in getting these things done, and I have," he said.

In response to O'Malley's criticism, Sanders spokesperson Rania Batrice defended the senator in an email on Wednesday.

"It would be tough to find someone who has fought harder than Bernie Sanders to protect the environment or that has a better understanding of the implications to future generations if climate change isn't addressed head-on. From proposing key legislation aimed at stopping climate change to leading the opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline and opposing the Bakken Pipeline, he is fighting to make sure our children and grandchildren do not grow up with the health ailments that are caused by a toxic climate," she wrote.

Former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has also put forward a plan to tackle climate change by creating enough clean energy to power every American home by 2027.

Tax credits for renewable energy and the federal Renewable Fuel Standard need to continue in a predictable way, O'Malley said, so that employers in those industries can make informed decisions. Private investment in energy research should also be encouraged, he said.

The climate discussion comes as representatives from 196 nations are working to strike a deal in Paris to curb global emissions, while Republicans on the 2016 campaign trail are decrying efforts by the Obama administration limit power plant emissions.

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O'Malley called the Paris climate talks "a way that we can be engaged in the world and be a leader in the world" and said he would call the talks a success if enough countries come together and agree to changes.

"What we have the opportunity to do in Paris is come out of there with a critical mass of like-minded people understanding that we all share the same atmosphere," he said.

O'Malley emphasized that new leadership is needed to deal with shifting challenges in the 21st century, like ISIS.

He also seemed to welcome the contrast to Sanders, an Independent senator and self-described democratic socialist.

"I am not a former independent, I am not a former socialist, I am not a former Republican," O'Malley said in his opening remarks. "I am a lifelong Democrat."

This approach managed to win over some in the audience, including Kevin Kummer, an Iowa City pastor who signed up to caucus for O'Malley after the event.

"I appreciate how he talks about his values, but also has a practical, pragmatic aspect, too," Kummer said, adding that hearing O'Malley answer questions and talk face to face with people about issues "kind of cinched it for me."

Iowa City resident Kathleen Renquist agreed, commending O'Malley for his stances on gun control, marriage equality and middle-class economics.

"This guy has all the issues that a Democrat should support," she said.

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Others, such as UI physics and philosophy student Scotty Hendricks, said they were leaning towards Sanders but still seemed impressed.

"I certainly thought that he made himself sound very competent," Hendricks said. "And I didn't know his plan was so comprehensive before today."

Reach Stephen Gruber-Miller at 319-887-5407 or sgrubermil@press-citizen.com. Follow him at @sgrubermiller.

AT THE EVENT

SETTING: The Iowa Memorial Union at the University of Iowa.

CROWD: About 130 people gathered in the building's Iowa Theatre.

REACTION: The crowd was polite, and O'Malley received applause for topics including the need to address climate change, pass comprehensive immigration reform and raise middle class wages.

WHAT’S NEXT: After the Iowa City event on Tuesday O'Malley headed to town halls in Keota and Willamsburg.