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(Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by party; black & white photos indicate candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria.)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:
"No, not any more than humans have been responsible for climate change, back and forth, up and down, cold and hot, during the many centuries in which such changes have occurred." Aug. 11, 2008 Chuck Baldwin
Bob Barr, former US House Representative (R-GA), in a May 22, 2008 interview on CNN's Glenn Beck Program, stated:
"Mankind has done a lot of good in the world. They have done a lot of bad as well, but change in the climate is not one of them. I've seen no legitimate scientific evidence that indicates that the cyclical -- and they are very much cyclical -- you know, increases and drops in global temperatures over the decades and over the centuries is the result of, you know, mankind." May 22, 2008 Bob Barr
John McCain, US Senator (R-AZ), stated in a Sep. 27, 2007 National Review article titled "America's Strategic Vulnerability: Vital Energy Questions":
"I also believe that strengthening our energy security goes hand-in-hand with addressing global climate change, which I believe is real with human activity contributing to the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere." Sep. 27, 2007 John McCain
Cynthia McKinney, former US House Representative (D-GA), issued the following statement through her Press Secretary, John Judge, in a Nov. 1, 2008 email to ProCon.org:
Ralph Nader, attorney, author, and political activist, issued the following statement through his Communications Director and Policy Writer, Loralynne Krobetzky, in an Oct. 20, 2008 email to ProCon.org:
Barack Obama, US Senator (D-IL), stated in an article titled "Barack Obama's Plan to Make America a Global Energy Leader" on his official candidate website (accessed Mar. 13, 2008):
"Global warming is real, is happening now and is the result of human activities. The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years. Glaciers are melting faster; the polar ice caps are shrinking; trees are blooming earlier; oceans are becoming more acidic, threatening marine life; people are dying in heat waves; species are migrating, and eventually many will become extinct." Mar. 13, 2008 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.)
Hillary Clinton, US Senator (D-NY), stated in a YouTube.com video of a Town Hall Meeting in Des Moines, IA titled "Hillary Clinton Answers a Global Warming Question in Iowa" (accessed Mar. 18, 2008):
"...[T]he President [George W. Bush] and Vice President [Dick Cheney] refuse to admit that there were any human contributions to global climate change. There are climatic changes that are so-called natural, but we have so changed the atmosphere that it has a ripple effect...Yes, there are natural reasons why the climate may get warmer but we put so much CO2 into the atmosphere that that changes the natural forces..." Mar. 18, 2008 Hillary Clinton
Mike Gravel, former US Senator (D-AK), in an article titled "How Mike Stands on the Issues" on his official candidate website (accessed Mar. 18, 2008), stated:
"Senator Gravel believes that global climate change is a matter of national security and survivability of the planet. As President, he will act swiftly to reduce America's carbon footprint in the world by initiating legislation to tax carbon at the source and cap carbon emissions." Mar. 18, 2008 Mike Gravel
Daniel Imperato, an Independent candidate and business entrepreneur, stated in a Mar. 11, 2008 telephone interview with ProCon.org:
"I think that we are all responsible for global climate change but I also think that it is something that is inevitable in our society. I don't think the people of the United States are responsible, I think the people of the world are." Mar. 11, 2008 Daniel Imperato
Alan Keyes, former Assistant US Secretary of State, stated in a Sep. 30, 2000 article titled "Debunking the Gashouse Gang," posted on the Renew America website:
"Just how likely is it that increasing levels of carbon dioxide resulting from human use of fossil fuels will cause a significant increase in global temperature — and that such an increase will be seriously harmful to human society?... A survey of what reputable scientists are actually saying on the question, however, suggests that it is quite likely that no one on earth knows just 'how likely' these bad results are. In fact, I think it is quite unreasonable for anyone to be confident that we face a human-induced global warming that will, on balance, be harmful rather than beneficial for humanity or the environment, much less that such a warming would be catastrophic." Sep. 30, 2000 Alan Keyes
Steve Kubby, founder of the American Medical Marijuana Association, stated in a Mar. 12, 2008 email to ProCon.org:
"Most scientists believe that humans are responsible for some portion of the factors driving global climate change. Many scientists disagree on whether or not that portion is 'substantial.' As it happens, though, the policies we need to follow for other reasons -- reasons like reducing our dependence on finite distant energy sources in hostile lands, and reducing pollution which threatens human health -- are the same policies we would need to follow to reduce whatever our actual climate impact is. We need to stop subsidizing the petroleum industry and hiding the true cost of its products. We need to let alternative energy sources compete on a playing field that isn't controlled, through government, by Big Oil." Mar. 12, 2008 Steve Kubby
Frank McEnulty, an Independent candidate and President of Our Castle Homes, in a Mar. 19, 2008 email to ProCon.org, stated:
"No. While I believe we may be partially responsible for global climate change, I also believe that normal climate changes and the extraordinary solar flare activity of the last few years have something to do with it as well. I do, however, welcome the debate as it points out that we are severely lacking any long-term energy planning as a country and on a worldwide basis." Mar. 19, 2008 Frank McEnulty
Ron Paul, US Representative (R-TX), stated in an Oct. 16, 2007 interview "Paul on the Record," with environmental website Grist.org:
"I think some of it [global warming] is related to human activities, but I don't think there's a conclusion yet. There's a lot of evidence on both sides of that argument. If you study the history, we've had a lot of climate changes. We've had hot spells and cold spells. They come and go. If there are weather changes, we're not going to be very good at regulating the weather." Oct. 16, 2007 Ron Paul