Candidates' positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found.
Candidates who have changed their positions are listed as Now their most recent position.
(Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by party; black & white photos indicate candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria.)
Chuck Baldwin, Founder and Minister of the Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL, issued the following statement through his Communications Director, Mary Starrett, in an Aug. 11, 2008 email to ProCon.org:
"We oppose environmental treaties and conventions such as the Biodiversity Treaty, the Convention on Climate Control, and Agenda 21, which destroy our sovereignty and right to private property." Aug. 11, 2008 Chuck Baldwin
Bob Barr, former US House Representative (R-GA), stated in an interview on CNN's Glenn Beck Program (retrieved from a YouTube video titled "Bob Barr on Glenn Beck 06/06/2008" and accessed Aug. 12, 2008):
"Global warming is a myth, but yet it's being used by the environmental folks and by the internationalists. A lot of the pressure is coming from the United Nations and other countries, some of which, like China of course, are pushing the Kyoto Protocol. Why? Because they are exempt, it's going to saddle us..." Aug. 12, 2008 Bob Barr
John McCain, US Senator (R-AZ), voted Yes on "S.RES.98" on July 25, 1997:
"Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the conditions for the United States becoming a signatory to any international agreement on greenhouse gas emissions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change...
(1) the United States should not be a signatory to any protocol to, or other agreement regarding, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of 1992, at negotiations in Kyoto in December 1997, or thereafter, which would--
(A) mandate new commitments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the Annex I Parties, unless the protocol or other agreement also mandates new specific scheduled commitments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions for Developing Country Parties within the same compliance period, or
(B) would result in serious harm to the economy of the United States; and
(2) any such protocol or other agreement which would require the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification should be accompanied by a detailed explanation of any legislation or regulatory actions that may be required to implement the protocol or other agreement and should also be accompanied by an analysis of the detailed financial costs and other impacts on the economy of the United States which would be incurred by the implementation of the protocol or other agreement." July 25, 1997 "S.RES.98," US Senate website
Ralph Nader, attorney, author, and political activist, stated in a Mar. 19, 2008 interview with environmental website Grist.org:
"Q: Many argue that the US shouldn't commit to a global greenhouse-gas reduction target that doesn't involve China and India. Do you agree with this? How would you bring them to the table?
[Nader]: You bring them to the table by restricting imports of badly emitting greenhouse-gas technologies. Then you devise an international treaty where you analyze very carefully which countries really need aid in this area, which countries don't need aid, and you proceed accordingly. You have a deliberative process under an international body with a global goal of restricting greenhouse gases and acid rain and other things." Mar. 19, 2008 Ralph Nader
Barack Obama, US Senator (D-IL), offered the following statement in an article titlted "Meeting Energy Needs" on his official candidate website (accessed Nov. 20, 2007):
"Barack Obama will take seriously the US's leadership role in combating climate change. Obama will signal to the world the US commitment to climate change leadership by implementing an aggressive domestic cap-and-trade program coupled with increased investments in clean energy development and deployment. Obama will build on our domestic commitments by creating a negotiating process that involves a smaller number of countries than the nearly 200 countries in the current Kyoto system. Obama will create a Global Energy Forum -- based on the G8+5, which included all G-8 members plus Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa -- of the world's largest emitters to focus exclusively on global energy and environmental issues.
Maintaining a standing international body focused on these issues will give a forum for all of the major emitters -- past, present and future -- to discuss efforts to combat climate change." Nov. 20, 2007 Barack Obama
INACTIVE CANDIDATES
(Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria appear
below in black and white and in alphabetical order by party.)
Joe Biden, US Senator (D-DE), stated in a Mar. 30, 2001 press release titled "Biden Calls on Bush to Reconsider His Stance on Global Warming":
"By declaring he has 'no interest' in the Kyoto treaty, the President has walked away from yet another important environmental commitment...I can't say I'm surprised, but I am disappointed. Many of our allies are upset, and with good reason. The President's decision to turn his back on this treaty is a huge setback for the environment and could delay action on global warming for years... The United States has an inescapable responsibility to lead on global environmental challenges. It's wrong to simply walk away from this international agreement." Mar. 30, 2001 Joe Biden
Hillary Clinton, US Senator (D-NY), in a July 24, 2007 article titled "Energy and Environment: Speech on the Green Building Fund" on her official candidate website, stated:
"...I will start by reigniting our international involvement. We cannot sit here, in the United Sates and expect to deal with global warming if we do not cooperate with other countries. Getting back into process, you know when President Bush took us out of Kyoto, I regretted that but he had an opportunity to start his own process, he didn't want to do Kyoto, do something else. Reach out to India and China they have to be part of this. One of the flaws of the Kyoto process was I don't think people anticipated, even in the early 90s how quickly China and India would grow. China is now growing at 12 percent a year. They are the second highest user of energy but they are now the highest emitter of green house gases in the world. India is not far behind. We have got to get a new international process." July 24, 2007 Hillary Clinton
Chris Dodd, US Senator (D-CT), stated in an Apr. 19, 2007 article titled "The New American Prosperity: Innovation and Energy Independence in the 21st Century," on his official candidate website:
"There is no reason why the United States should be falling behind countries such as Germany, Brazil and Japan when it comes to renewable energy technologies such as wind, solar and biofuels. If other countries can do it, America can do it better. That is why, for all its flaws, it was a disgrace that this Administration abandoned the Kyoto Protocol - that they picked up their chair and went home. In a Dodd Administration, America will lead the world in reversing the effects of global climate change, convening an International Global Warming Summit." Apr. 19, 2007 Chris Dodd
John Edwards, former US Senator (D-NC), stated on C-SPAN in Apr. 2007:
"We made a mistake by disengaging from Kyoto initially. That was a huge mistake because there's no way to fix it when America is not involved. The problem is, in order for us to have a global solution, Kyoto, any international treaty on climate change, has to include the developing world. It has to include China and India. Right now since America is such a polluter on this issue, we don't have any credibility. So I think the starting place on this is to fix our own house and then help structure a new international treaty." Apr. 2007 John Edwards
Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, stated in a Mar. 26, 2007 article titled "Interview with Rudy Giuliani" in a Kudlow & Company column on RealClearPolitics.com:
"Whatever your scientific conclusion about global warming, whether it's manmade or it isn't or whatever, the reality is that if you don't have--if you don't have restrictions on China, if you don't have restrictions on India, our contribution, ultimately, is going to be minor. We could put all these restrictions on ourselves and have just as much arguable global warming if China, India, some of these other countries that are going to be contributing a lot more to this don't become part of some kind of system to create alternatives." Mar. 26, 2007 Rudy Giuliani
Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, stated in his 2007 book From Hope to Higher Ground by Mike Huckabee:
"It would have been a mistake to sign the Kyoto Treaty since it would have given foreign nations the power to impose standards on us." 2007 Mike Huckabee
Duncan Hunter, US Representative (R-CA), in an Aug. 13, 2007 article titled "Welcome Congressman Duncan Hunter - LIVE Thread (virtual Free Republic press conference)" on FreeRepublic.com, stated:
"While historic measurements of temperatures do indicate that warming has occurred [according the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration the mean temperature for the contiguous US has increased by 1.1 degree Fahrenheit] the apportionment of warming to man's activities versus the natural cycle is unclear. The Kyoto Protocol would have been disastrous for those who advocate less greenhouse gasses as well as Americans who want to maintain the industrial base of the United States.
Kyoto exempted Communist China and India from limitations. Thus, US industry would be incentivized to move production to these two 'smokestack' countries, thereby increasing pollution-per-product made.
I believe strongly in achieving energy independence for the US This should be accomplished by cutting taxes on the production of alternative energy systems, including geothermal, nuclear, wind, solar, etc. In the meantime, ANWR should be open for US petroleum development.
I reject Al Gore's and others' doomsday alarmism on the subject." Aug. 13, 2007 Duncan Hunter
Daniel Imperato, an Independent candidate and business entrepreneur, issued the following statement through his press secretary, Joseph Oddo, in a Nov. 30, 2007 email to ProCon.org:
"We should encourage voluntary citizen participation in carbon emissions and collaborate with the international community on reaching an acceptable protocol. If run by the government, it will get messed up." Nov. 30, 2007 Daniel Imperato
Alan Keyes, former Assistant US Secretary of State, stated in a Sep. 16, 2000 article titled "Canning Kyoto," posted on the Declaration Freedom website:
"It is difficult to know where to begin in listing the evils and dangers of the Kyoto Protocol; the urgency is profound to prevent the Senate from ratifying it and to prevent the executive regulatory octopus from attempting to enforce satisfying the American targets in the Protocol...
...[M]assive, inevitably clumsy and arbitrary government intervention to reduce the energy metabolism of the American economy would dramatically reduce -- or even reverse -- our long-term economic growth. Kyoto-induced energy rationing and the resulting surge in energy costs would make this summer's gasoline price spikes seem like trifles by comparison. By definition, the eliminated energy usage would have been for projects otherwise dictated by the free economic decisions of the wealth creators in the private sector. A serious effort to meet the Kyoto target in America would be the equivalent of a vast and pervasive new tax. But economic growth is the key to ending the material suffering that is still the lot of the poor. A Kyoto-inspired suppression of enterprise would prolong, and perhaps even increase, the suffering of many poor Americans, not to mention billions in underdeveloped countries." Sep. 16, 2000 Alan Keyes
Steve Kubby, a Libertarian candidate and founder of the American Medical Marijuana Association, stated in a Nov. 9, 2007 email to ProCon.org:
"No. In the past, such protocols and agreements have primarily been instruments for transferring American wealth to third world countries, and for placing the burden of environmental protection largely on America's shoulders. America should work unilaterally to reduce its own carbon emissions without allowing itself to become entangled in the separate agendas of other governments. America was the engine of the Industrial Revolution which, although it created the pollution problems we face now, also vastly improved the standard of living worldwide. Freedom and the market will allow us to be the engine of the NEXT industrial revolution -- the revolution in which we once again make quantum leaps in the improvement the quality of human life while addressing the problem of pollution, and in which we once again deliver those solutions to a waiting world." Nov. 9, 2007 Steve Kubby
Dennis Kucinich, US Representative (D-OH), stated in a June 20, 2007 article titled "Campaign for America's Future: Take Back America 2007" on the Federal News Service:
"...[A]s we reduce our carbon footprint, simultaneously we work with the world community. The Kyoto Climate Change Treaty is just the first step. We need to go beyond Kyoto. We need to reach out to the world and reduce our carbon emissions, and we need to have environmental protection to secure our food supplies." June 20, 2007 Dennis Kucinich
Frank McEnulty, an Independent candidate and President of Our Castle Homes, in a Nov. 13, 2007 email to ProCon.org, stated:
"Yes, I see no reason not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Most of the world has ratified it and we need to be part of the solution and work together with the rest of the world on solving environmental problems.
I am an outdoorsman. There is nothing I enjoy more than hiking through open spaces, hunting and fishing. I also have children and am worried about what resources they will have as they, and hopefully someday, their children, grow older. Naturally, I am for protecting the environment. However, there is a give and take to everything. As the country continues to grow so will our demands for space and natural resources. I believe that the environment can be protected and nurtured while still being used for the greater good of all Americans. Sometimes that will require a set-aside of certain areas of the country as protected environments and sometimes that will require that we exploit the land and minerals to keep our country going. Will everyone be happy with my decisions?
Probably not, but as a President that is independent of the influences of the major parties, I can always make my decisions based on the best information and the best interests of our country, both today and in the future." Nov. 13, 2007 Frank McEnulty
Ron Paul, US Representative (R-TX), in a May 17, 2005 article titled "Get Out of the WTO" on LewRockwell.com:
"What about the Kyoto Accords, the international agreement that aims to solve the supposed problem of global warming? Clearly the Kyoto Accords, to which the United States has not agreed, will affect world trade. Will this be an open door for the WTO to act as enforcer toward the United States and other countries that refuse to sign Kyoto? Two leading UN observers, Henry Lamb of Sovereignty International and Cathie Adams of Texas Eagle Forum, have reported that the WTO is widely recognized as the enforcement tool of choice for the Kyoto treaty." May 17, 2005 Ron Paul
Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, stated in a Mar. 2, 2007 speech at Drake University aired on C-SPAN:
""We have to fight global climate change and we have to have an international effort to do it. It means mandating the reduction of carbons and caps on emission and the pollution that comes from fossil fuels and vehicles...
What does this administration do when President Bush comes into office? He says, 'I'm not going to follow the Kyoto Treaty.'
I just want to tell you that in New Mexico, we are the first state to follow the Kyoto Treaty. Maybe our country isn't, but we did and we're doing that. I think the first thing the President does on the global climate change, is say we're going to follow the Kyoto Treaty, but we're going to exceed the limits because we lost six years."
Mar. 2, 2007 Bill Richardson
Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, stated in a Feb. 23, 2007 press release titled "Governor Mitt Romney on the Current Environmental Debate" on his official campaign website:
"Unfortunately, some in the Republican Party are embracing the radical environmental ideas of the liberal left. As governor, I found that thoughtful environmentalism need not be anti-growth and anti-jobs. But Kyoto-style sweeping mandates, imposed unilaterally in the United States, would kill jobs, depress growth and shift manufacturing to the dirtiest developing nations.
Republicans should never abandon pro-growth conservative principles in an effort to embrace the ideas of Al Gore. Instead of sweeping mandates, we must use America's power of innovation to develop alternative sources of energy and new technologies that use energy more efficiently." Feb. 23, 2007 Mitt Romney
Tom Tancredo, US Representative (R-CO), voted No on "H.AMDT.902" on June 26, 2000:
"H.AMDT.902 (amendment to H.R.4690): Amendment clarifies that the limitations on funds concerning the Kyoto Protocol shall not apply to activities which are otherwise authorized by law." June 26, 2000 "H.AMDT.902," US Congress website
Fred Thompson, former US Senator (R-TN), stated in a Mar. 22, 2007 article titled "Plutonic Warming" on National Review online:
"Some people think that our planet is suffering from a fever. Now scientists are telling us that Mars is experiencing its own planetary warming: Martian warming. It seems scientists have noticed recently that quite a few planets in our solar system seem to be heating up a bit, including Pluto.
NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] says the Martian South Pole's 'ice cap' has been shrinking for three summers in a row. Maybe Mars got its fever from earth. If so, I guess Jupiter's caught the same cold, because it's warming up too, like Pluto.
This has led some people, not necessarily scientists, to wonder if Mars and Jupiter, non signatories to the Kyoto Treaty, are actually inhabited by alien SUV-driving industrialists who run their air-conditioning at 60 degrees and refuse to recycle.
Silly, I know, but I wonder what all those planets, dwarf planets and moons in our SOLAR system have in common. Hmmmm. SOLAR system. Hmmmm. Solar? I wonder. Nah, I guess we shouldn't even be talking about this. The science is absolutely decided. There's a consensus.