President Obama was asked on MTV what he would do about climate change, an issue that’s come up only rarely during the campaign and never in the presidential debates.
“We’re not moving as fast as we need to,” Obama said. “This is an issue that future generations, MTV viewers, are going to have to be dealing with even more than the older generation is. So this is a critical issue — and there’s a huge contrast in this campaign between myself and Governor Romney. I’m surprised it didn’t come up in the debates.”
Obama said Romney “says he believs in climate change….but he says he’s not sure that man-made causes are the reason” As for his own views, “I believe scientists who say we’re putting too much carbon emissions into the atmosphere and it’s heating the planet and its going to have a severe effect.”
Obama defended his record, despite his failure to pass a comprehensive cap and trade bill he backed on the campaign trail in 2008. He pointed to his historic increase in fuel efficiency standards as one centerpiece, as well as government investments in wind and solar energy. However, given China’s and India’s current reliance on coal, he added that “in order to solve the probem though, we’re going to have to have some technological breakthroughs.”
