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Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, explained on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” why climate change is a “sin”—or what Colbert termed a “transgression of God’s laws.”

“We're supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves,” Buttigieg said in part of his response on the Sept. 5, 2019 edition of Colbert's program.

“And the biggest problem with climate change isn't just that it's gonna hurt the planet,” he said. “I mean in some way, shape, or form, the planet is still going to be here. It's that we are hurting people, people who are alive right now and people who will be born in the future.

“The way I see it,” he continued, “I don't imagine that God's going to let us off the hook for abusing future generations any more than you would be off the hook for harming somebody right next to you.”

In the latest poll in the Iowa caucus, which was conducted for CBS News, Buttigieg was tied with Sen. Bernie Sander of Vermont and former Vice President Joe Biden for first place. All three had the support of 23 percent of registered Democratic voters who were surveyed.

Here is the text of Buttigieg’s and Colbert’s exchange on climate change and God's laws:

Stephen Colbert: “You, last night in the town hall on climate change, you called climate change a sin. Pete Buttigieg: Yeah. Colbert: In what way is climate change a transgression of God's laws? Buttigieg: Well, look, I'm not out to impose my faith on anybody else, but-- Colbert: Sharia law. Is this your Sharia law? Buttigieg: Look, I'm Episcopalian. Um, and— Colbert: Oh, you don't have Sharia law, you're trying to tell me? Buttigieg: Our Sharia Law is called the Book of Common Prayer. Colbert: Gotcha. Buttigieg: And, there's a lot of stuff in there about the environment. There's a lot of stuff about stewardship for creation. But also to me, environmental stewardship isn't just about taking care of the planet. It's taking care of our neighbor. We're supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves. And the biggest problem with climate change isn't just that it's gonna hurt the planet. I mean in some way, shape, or form, the planet is still gonna be here. It's that we are hurting people, people who are alive right now and people who will be born in the future. The way I see it, I don't imagine that God's going to let us off the hook for abusing future generations anymore than you would be off the hook for harming somebody right next to you. And with climate change, we're doing both.









