Bernie says no! to fracking!

March 9, 2016

TUMULTY: I'm going to call time here because I want to move on to a subject that more than two dozen Florida mayors have asked to raise with you. They have asked us to share with you their concern over the effects of rising sea levels and climate change in their communities.

(APPLAUSE)

TUMULTY: Just take a look at this map. You can see that no state has more at stake than Florida does. And no city has more at stake than Miami, the city in which we are sitting. But many Republicans argue that this is not a man-made problem.

Senator Sanders, is it possible to move forward on this issue if you do not get a bipartisan consensus, and what would you do?

SANDERS: Well, first of all, Karen, when you have Republican candidates for president and in Congress telling you that climate change is a hoax, which is Donald Trump and other candidates' position, what they are really saying is, we don't have the guts to take on the fossil fuel industry.

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: What candidates are saying is if we stand up to the fossil fuel industry, and transform our energy system away from coal and oil and gas to energy efficiency and wind and solar and geothermal and other sustainable technologies, you know what happens to that Republican who listens to the scientists? On that day, that Republican loses his campaign funding from the Koch brothers and the fossil fuel industry.

TUMULTY: So you've just described the problem, but how would you move forward given that this is the situation?

SANDERS: The way I would move forward in every other area. And what we are doing in this campaign is fighting not only to become president, but I'm the only candidate who says no president, not Bernie Sanders, can do it all. You know what we need, Karen? We need a political revolution in this country.

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: And when millions of people stand up and tell the fossil fuel industry that their profits, their short-term profits are less significant than the long-term health of this planet, we will win. That is the way change always takes place.

(APPLAUSE)

TUMULTY: Secretary Clinton, can we do this without a bipartisan consensus?No major environmental legislation has ever passed without bipartisan votes.

CLINTON: Well, Karen, first of all, I was proud a number of mayors from Florida campaign for me in South Carolina. I had a chance to talk to some of them about this issue. It is a really serious one. And there isn't much time left to do several things that I will move quickly to do.

You can see already what's happening in Miami, particularly in Miami Beach with tides rising. So we do have to invest in resilience and mitigation while we are trying to cut emissions and make up for the fact that this is clearly man-made and man-aggravated.

CLINTON: And there are certain things that the president has done through executive action that I will absolutely support. All the Republican say they will, if they're elected, heaven forbid, repeal all of those executive actions. I will maintain them and act on them.

The clean power plan is something that Senator Sanders has said he would delay implementing, which makes absolutely no sense. We need to implement all of the president's executive actions and quickly move to make a bridge from coal to natural gas to clean energy.

That is the way we will keep the lights on while we are transitioning to a clean energy future. And when I talk about resilience, I think that is an area we can get Republican support on.

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: Let me be very clear...

(CROSSTALK)

CLINTON: Because -- because after all -- excuse me.

SANDERS: I have introduced...

CLINTON: Excuse me, excuse me.

SANDERS: Did you ask me to speak?

CLINTON: After all, there are...

(APPLAUSE)

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: Madam Secretary, when he asked me to speak...

CLINTON: You know, you don't -- you know, you don't have to do much more than look at rising insurance rates.

RAMOS: Secretary, thank you very much.

CLINTON: You know, most of the property in Florida will be at risk in the next 50 years. I think I can get a bipartisan consensus on resilience and then implementing the president's orders until we frankly win back enough seats, take back the Senate, and get back to bipartisan... (CROSSTALK)

RAMOS: Senator Sanders?

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: (inaudible) have as much time as she just had.

RAMOS: Absolutely. This is your debate.

SANDERS: Thank you.

Let's be clear. You're looking at the senator who introduced the most comprehensive climate change legislation in the history of the United States Senate.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, I hope that Secretary Clinton would join me if we are serious about climate change, about imposing a tax on carbon on the fossil fuel industry and making massive investments in energy efficiency and sustainable energy. And by the way, while we are on the subject of energy, I hope you'll join me in ending fracking in the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

(CROSSTALK)