President says members of congress are feigning ignorance of science because they fear backlash from 'fringe elements'

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Barack Obama has turned up the political heat on climate deniers, making fun of Republicans in Congress for catering to “a bunch of fringe elements”.



In a speech to environmental activists in Washington, Obama suggested Republicans were playing dumb on climate change to avoid a backlash from ultra-conservative Tea Party elements.



Republicans actually recognised climate change was real, Obama suggested, but were afraid to admit it in public.



“They ducked the question and said 'Hey I'm not a scientist,' which really translates into 'I accept that manmade climate change is real but if I say so I will be run out of town by a bunch of fringe elements,'” Obama said.

“So I am just going to pretend like – I don't know – I can't read.”



It is the second time in days that Obama has mocked Republicans for being anti-science as he tries to rally public support for his new rules limiting carbon pollution from power plants.



Earlier in the month at the University of California Irvine Obama likened Republicans' positions on climate change to believing the moon was made of cheese.



At Wednesday's event in Washington he returned to the idea that Republicans are anti-science. “In Congress folks will tell you climate change is a hoax, a fad, or a plot – a liberal plot,” he told the annual dinner of the League of Conservation Voters.

The president's appearance at the dinner suggests he is determined to claim climate change as a legacy issue of his second term. Republicans in Congress and in state legislatures have geared up to fight the new rules, which seek to cut emissions from power plants 30% from 2012 levels by 2030.

But the White House and some Democratic leaders now argue the fight could be in their favour and that climate change could be a winning issue in some parts of the country in the November midterm elections.



A number of campaign groups, including LCV, have commissioned polls indicating strong majorities in favour of cutting power plant emissions.



The dinner capped two days of events intended to mark the anniversary of Obama's milestone speech on climate change setting out his intention to use his executive authority to take action.



Earlier in the day White House officials met a number of business leaders to discuss growing economic risks of climate change.

