Sanders' Climate Plan: Huge Emissions Cuts, Environmental Justice

"The Democratic presidential hopeful announces a plan later than his rivals, but one that takes on the fossil fuel industry."

"Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders released a climate and energy plan on Monday, calling for the U.S. to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

To achieve that goal, Sanders pledged that if elected to the White House next year he would work to institute a tax on carbon, ban oil and gas drilling on public lands, offshore and in the Arctic, halt fracking for natural gas, eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and invest heavily in renewable energy, adding 10 million clean energy jobs over the next several decades.

The release of the 16-page agenda, titled "Combating Climate Change to Save the Planet," comes during United Nations treaty talks in Paris, where delegates from 195 countries are working to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius—the threshold after which scientists expect climate impacts to become calamitous."

Katherine Bagley reports for InsideClimate News December 7, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"Combating Climate Change to Save the Planet" (Bernie Sanders 2016)