Brown to GOP hopefuls: What will you do about climate change?

Gov. Jerry Brown talks with reporters after an April meeting about the drought at his Capitol office in Sacramento. Gov. Jerry Brown talks with reporters after an April meeting about the drought at his Capitol office in Sacramento. Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Brown to GOP hopefuls: What will you do about climate change? 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

SACRAMENTO — Ahead of the first Republican presidential debate, Gov. Jerry Brown pressed the 17 declared candidates Wednesday to detail how they plan to deal with the effects of climate change.

Brown sent the question in a letter penned to each of the Republican hopefuls, including the 10 who will participate in the Fox News debate on Thursday.

“Longer fire seasons, extreme weather and severe droughts aren't on the horizon, they're all here — and here to stay,” Brown wrote. “This is the new normal. The climate is changing. Given the challenge and the stakes, my question for you is simple: What are you going to do about it? What is your plan to deal with the threat of climate change?”

Fox News announced the lineup for the debate based the highest average standings in the five most recent national polls. The lineup will be businessman Donald Trump, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

The remaining seven candidates have been invited to participate in a separate forum before the debate.

Many of Republicans crowding the GOP field have rejected science that says global warming is caused by human activity. Other candidates have pushed back against climate change policies.

Climate change is likely to be a key issue in the presidential campaign. Earlier this year, a New York Times/Stanford University poll earlier showed an overwhelming majority of respondents — including half of Republicans — support government action to curb global warming. That was a significant shift from two years earlier, when polls showed a majority of Republicans said they believed climate change was a hoax.

In California, nearly two-thirds of residents say global warming is contributing to the state’s drought, but that link is not being made by Republicans. The poll by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found 62 percent of Republicans did not believe global warming has contributed to the drought, and that a third of Republicans said the effects of global warming will never happen.

“Continuing to question the science and hurl insults at ‘global warming hoaxsters’ and ‘apostles of this pseudo-religion’ won't prevent severe damage to our health and economic well-being,” Brown wrote to the GOP presidential candidates. “Americans, their children and generations to come deserve — and demand — better.”

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez