Barack Obama swipes at Mitt Romney over climate change jibe

By Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent, www.guardian.co.uk
7 September 2012 Barack Obama chose the biggest night of his re-election campaign to acknowledge the dangers of climate change – and to take a swipe at Mitt Romney for turning global warming into a laugh line in his convention speech. Obama thrilled Democrats when he accepted his party’s presidential nomination on Thursday with a blunt rebuttal to the climate change contrarians who now dominate the Republican party. The president said he would continue to invest in wind and solar energy if he wins a second term, because the threat of climate change was real. “And yes, my plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet because climate change is not a hoax. More droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke. They’re a threat to our children’s future. And in this election, you can do something about it,” Obama said, to a roar of approval from the hall. The remarks were a pointed and deliberate contrast to Romney. The Republican contender got the biggest laughs of his speech by making fun of candidate Obama’s concern on climate change when he first ran in 2008. “President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet,” Romney said. “My promise is to help you and your family.” He got a standing ovation. The strong reaction in the hall – and the outrage from Democrats and others after a summer of heat waves, drought, wildfires, and now hurricanes – all but ensured climate change a mention in Obama’s own convention speech a week later. Obama said nothing about taking comprehensive action to limit the emissions that cause climate change. The Democrats’ party platform, adopted this week, makes no mention of cap and trade, which Obama supported in 2008. The speech also touted the increase in domestic oil production under the Obama presidency, part of the president’s “all of the above” energy policy. Even so, the remarks on climate change were Obama’s most visible identification with the issue since December 2009 when he flew to Copenhagen and jumped in to all-night negotiation sessions to try to extract a deal at the UN climate change summit. […]

Barack Obama swipes at Mitt Romney over climate change jibe