Presidential candidates Sen. Bernard Sanders and Gov. Jay Inslee indirectly slammed former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Friday after a new report said he would tackle climate change by finding a middle ground between environmentalists and blue-collar voters.

Reuters reported Mr. Biden’s climate policies would “likely include re-joining the United States with the Paris Climate Agreement and preserving U.S. regulations on emissions and vehicle fuel efficiency” while also “supportive of nuclear energy and fossil fuel options.”

His fellow Democratic 2020 hopefuls said that will not be enough.

“There is no ‘middle ground’ when it comes to climate policy. If we don’t commit to fully transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels, we will doom future generations. Fighting climate change must be our priority, whether fossil fuel billionaires like it or not,” Mr. Sanders tweeted.

“Climate change is an urgent crisis. ‘Middle-ground’ approaches and half measures won’t cut it. We need a large-scale national mobilization to defeat climate change and grow millions of jobs in a clean energy economy,” Mr. Inslee tweeted.

A Biden campaign spokesperson said in a statement: “Joe Biden has called climate change an ‘existential threat,’ and as Vice President was instrumental in orchestrating the Paris Climate Accord.”

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