Buttigieg expands on climate plan with new proposals

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Friday released new climate proposals as part of his environment agenda.

The former South Bend, Ind., mayor wants to conserve 30 percent of U.S. lands and oceans by 2030, double clean electricity generation by 2025 and make the U.S. more resilient to the effects of climate change. 

“America’s public lands power local economies, preserve sensitive habitats and cultural heritage, and protect our clean air and water,” Buttigieg said in a statement. 

“My administration will protect our public lands for posterity while ensuring that they are a key part of the solution to tackling the climate crisis,” he added.

Recent rankings of Buttigieg’s plans by environmentalists have placed him among the middle of the pack.

Buttigieg this week was given a 4 out of 10 on the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund’s scorecard, place him third out of the six candidates it evaluated.

He has been given a B-plus by Greenpeace, coming fourth out of 10 candidates, including the eight Democrats running for the White House as well as President Trump and his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld. 

The White House hopeful’s new proposal calls for building a zero-emission clean electricity system by 2035 and achieving net-zero emissions from public lands by 2030.

He also targets environmental rollbacks eyed by the Trump administration, saying he would “restore the integrity” of bedrock conservation laws such the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.

He also calls for restoring the original boundaries to the Bears Ears National Monument established by former President Obama amid plans from the Trump administration to shrink it.

To make the U.S more resistant to the effects of climate change, Buttigieg is proposing the establishment of “Regional Resilience Hubs” to provide resilience data and to invest $5 billion in grants that can be used for resilience projects. 

Buttigieg’s aim to conserve 30 percent of lands and oceans follows a similar proposal from former presidential candidate Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). 

Bennet and Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) have introduced a resolution that would require such conservation.

— Updated at 12:12 p.m.