Joe Biden's climate plan faces plagiarism backlash, AOC says it’s not enough
As the first primary debate of the 2020 presidential election approaches, climate change continues to be a topic very much in focus for many Democratic voters.
Joe Biden, the former Vice President and current favorite to secure the Democratic nomination, unveiled his $1.7 trillion climate change plan on Tuesday, but it was not without controversy.
Just hours after it was released, it was amended over concerns of plagiarism. The changes came after discovery that language in the plan was lifted from outside sources without the proper citation.
Biden's spokesperson said that as soon as they were made aware of the mistakes they edited the plan to give proper credit.
Biden's 1988 presidential campaign was famously derailed by accusations of plagiarism after he plagiarized from British politicians including Neil Kinnock and Margaret Thatcher.
He chose climate change for his second policy rollout and called for funding that will help fight the cause for over the next decade. Biden said his plan can be funded by rolling back the 2017 Trump tax cuts. The plan calls on Congress to mandate cuts in fossil fuel pollution to eventually reach a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Trump 2020 Strategic Communications Director Marc Lotter said that while his plan may appeal to the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party, Biden could alienate some of his other supporters.
"He's putting forward and endorsing ideas of the Green New Deal. Which his labor union supporters hate because it eliminates their jobs,” Lotter said during an interview with FOX Business’ Trish Regan on Wednesday.
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New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a very vocal proponent for a massive climate overhaul, said that $1.7 trillion won't even scratch the surface of necessary investment.
“I think we really need to get to $10 trillion to have a shot,” Cortez said to reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday. “I don’t think anyone wants to spend that amount of money, it’s not a fun number to say, I’m not excited to say we need to spend $10 trillion on climate, but it’s just the fact of the scenario.”
The freshman lawmaker has been a champion of the much-publicized Green New Deal.