Florida mayors join forces to call for climate questions at primary debates
Source: The Guardian
Florida mayors join forces to call for climate questions at primary debates
Bipartisan group of mayors say it would be ‘unconscionable for these
issues of grave concern to Florida’ not to be considered at Miami debates
Oliver Milman
Tuesday 8 March 2016 18.31 GMT
A coalition of Florida mayors has pleaded for presidential candidates to be asked about climate change and sea level rises during forthcoming debates in Miami, fuelling criticism of the “ridiculous” lack of questions on the subjects in TV debates so far.
The group of 21 mayors, comprising Democrats and Republicans, has written to the moderators of the Democratic and Republican TV debates to argue it would be “unconscionable for these issues of grave concern for the people of Florida to not be addressed”.
The letter states that candidates should be asked about reductions to greenhouse gas emissions and investments in coastal infrastructure during the Miami debates. The Democratic debate, hosted by Univision and the Washington Post, will take place on Wednesday, with the Republican event, handled by CNN, Salem Radio and the Washington Times, held on Thursday.
The plea, issued from US cities acutely vulnerable to rising sea levels, follows mounting criticism of the lack of questions posed to candidates on climate change. In a televised Republican debate held just three days after the historic Paris climate deal, climate change was only mentioned once in passing by John Kasich, who argued that the summit should have been used to discuss terrorism instead.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/08/miami-debates-climate-change-republican-democratic-florida-primary