Politics

Beto O’Rourke Claims The World Has 10 Years Left To Act On Climate Change

(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

William Davis Contributor
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Former Democratic Texas Rep. and 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke claimed Monday night that Americans have 10 years left to significantly address climate change.

O’Rourke told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes that he plans to unite the country in the “10 years we have left to us” to address climate change. (RELATED: Far-Left Environmentalists Aren’t Impressed With Beto’s Climate Change Agenda)

“I want to make sure that those who work in the oil and gas industry — those who work in the fossil fuel industry — are brought along as partners to make sure that we make this transition in the 10 years we have left to us,” O’Rourke said. “We all have a shared interest in a cleaner future.”

O’Rourke introduced a proposal Monday that would require spending $5 trillion over 10 years on efforts to reduce carbon emissions and boost the economy through renewable energy. (RELATED: Top Beto O’Rourke Aides Leave Campaign)

Prominent progressive leaders such as Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have previously claimed that the world is only 12 years away from disaster, citing a U.N. report on climate change from last year.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC) issued a report emphasizing the urgency of reducing carbon emissions, and said that world leaders must take “unprecedented” action to prevent the global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

When O’Rourke kicked off his campaign last month, he warned that climate change could potentially “lead to extinction.”

“Perhaps most importantly of all, because our very existence depends on it, we can unleash the ingenuity and creativity of millions of Americans who want to ensure that we squarely confront the challenge of climate change before it’s too late,” O’Rourke said at the time.

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