Clinton campaign rejects Dem plan for carbon price

Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is stepping away from a plank in the Democratic platform endorsing a price for greenhouse gas emissions. 

In a concession to supporters of Clinton’s primary rival, Bernie Sanders, the party platform committee this weekend embraced language calling for a price on greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, a measure some environmentalists and greens see as key to cutting down on climate change-causing emissions. 

{mosads}Clinton, though, has not said she supports such a policy, and her personal climate change plan does not include a carbon price of any kind.

After the platform committee met this weekend, one of her advisers repeated that she won’t push the measure as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. 

“Her plan is clearly articulated on her website,” Clinton energy policy adviser Trevor Houser said, The Associated Press reports. “It’s not her plan.”

A carbon tax was one of a few specific environmental priorities Sanders supporters looked to attach to the Democratic platform. The final language on climate issues says that “carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases should be priced” to reflect their impact on the economy. 

The platform supports expanding renewable energy, calls for more regulation of hydraulic fracturing and sets several goals for reducing emissions and expanding clean energy. Clinton supports those measures, though she has resisted the call for imposing a carbon tax. 

—This post was updated at 3:21 p.m.