Pete Buttigieg's new trillion-dollar climate proposal is small change compared to rivals'
Democratic presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg released a trillion-dollar climate proposal Wednesday that includes a multifaceted approach to creating jobs and achieving net-zero emissions.
Buttigieg's plan, which could cost between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion over 10 years, is small change compared to the ones unveiled by other Democratic presidential hopefuls. Andrew Yang's proposal would cost $4.87 trillion and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren's plan would cost about $3 trillion.
Their plans pale in comparison to presidential hopeful and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' $16 trillion climate change plan.
Buttigieg's plan, which increases federal clean energy research and development by billions of dollars, is short on information about how the government will pay for it.
"We'll nearly quadruple R&D investments in advanced wind and solar, battery storage, and carbon capture to $25 billion a year -- more than the Manhattan Project," Buttigieg wrote in an op-ed on CNN's website published the same day he unveiled his plan.
His proposal does include working to eliminate tax subsidies for fossil fuel industries and raising royalty rates on public lands being used for fossil fuel production. The campaign said the U.S. spends more than $26 billion annually the fossil fuel industry to "artificially boost polluting sources of energy," citing data from the Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit environmental advocacy organization.
Other facets of Buttigieg's plan include:
- Requiring zero emissions for all new passenger vehicles by 2035
- Transitioning all new trucks, buses, ships and planes to net-zero emissions by 2040 and all industrial, manufacturing and agriculture by 2050
- Charging an economy-wide price on carbon and "rebate the revenue back to Americans"
- Developing tax incentives for energy efficiency, including in residential homes
- Developing a thriving carbon removal industry
"For too long Washington has chosen denial and obstruction as we're faced with the imminent catastrophic effects of climate change," Buttigieg said in a statement along with the plan's release. "But the timeline that compels us to act isn't set by Congress — it's being dictated by science. Climate change impacts not only our coasts, but also farmers, small businesses, homes, and communities across our country."
The Buttigieg campaign's white paper on climate can be read here.
FOX Business' inquiries to the campaign were not returned at the time of publication.