The Climate Crisis Briefly Crashes the New Hampshire GOP Primary – GWC Mag

This week, candidates for the Republican nomination for president spoke at separate events throughout New Hampshire ahead of the state’s primary election on 23 January. Only one candidate, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, mentioned climate change and the environment in an appearance.

A scheduled debate between former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Haley was canceled earlier this week after Trump and Haley declined to participate. Instead, DeSantis and Haley spoke individually at town hall events, and Trump spoke at rallies.

At one town hall event, Haley was asked a question by a college student about how to reduce global carbon emissions. She derided other members of her party for denying the reality of climate change—“Climate change is real. I think that’s acknowledging a fact. We need to acknowledge our facts to know where we go.”

She emphasized carbon contributions from China and India, the highest and third-highest carbon emitters in the world, but did not acknowledge the disproportionate contribution from the United States, which ranks as the second-worst carbon emitter.

She then criticized the Biden administration’s push toward electric vehicles (EVs) in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and falsely stated that the legislation mandates that EVs supplant gas-powered vehicles by 2033. She said that she would partner with energy producers, namely, the oil and gas industries, to drive innovations that reduce emissions without relying on batteries made in China.

Each candidate has consistently stated support for expanding domestic fossil fuel production, both oil and natural gas, in an effort to move the United States toward energy independence. This week, Trump mentioned New Hampshire’s highest-in-the-nation energy prices and vowed to cut those prices in half, repeating the longtime Republican mantra of “drill, baby, drill.” “We have more liquid gold and wealth under our feet than any other nation,” said Trump, clarifying that he meant oil and gas.

With Trump standing over his shoulder, former candidate for president Vivek Ramaswamy included nuclear energy among a list of fossil fuels that “are a requirement for human prosperity.” (Nuclear power does not burn fossil fuels.) DeSantis and Haley did not clarify where they think nuclear energy, which produces more than 50% of New Hampshire’s energy, fits into their vision of an energy-independent future.

Candidates also addressed education and equity this week. Geoscientists have repeatedly argued that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, a frank reckoning on racial justice, and inclusivity are essential for advancing geoscience as a field and society as a whole.

Trump promised to cut federal funding for schools that teach “inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content,” referring to discourse including LGBTQ+ people and discussions of systemic racism. DeSantis boasted of his aggressive moves that defunded DEI initiatives at Florida public schools and changed how the state’s curriculum teaches about slavery. Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants who acknowledges that she has experienced racism herself, doubled down on her assertion that the United States has never been a racist country.

—Kimberly M. S. Cartier (@AstroKimCartier), Staff Writer

Citation: Cartier, K. M. S. (2024), The climate crisis briefly crashes the New Hampshire GOP primary, Eos, 105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EO240033. Published on 19 January 2024.

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