Huber Weighs In on the Vice Presidential Debate and the Topic of Climate Change in ABC News Article

October 15, 2024

ABC News

Matthew T. Huber

Geography & the Environment Department

Center for Environmental Policy and Administration

Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict & Collaboration

Climate Change

U.S. Elections

United States

ABC News

Matthew T. Huber

In the wake of Hurricane Helene's catastrophic damage across the southeastern United States, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance met for the vice presidential debate.

While climate change has stayed relatively in the background of the 2024 election cycle, the debate saw an undeniable shift, with Walz and Vance being asked about their climate positions as the second question of the night.

Matthew Huber, professor of geography and the environment, says the VP debate was “evidence of the sad state of our climate discourse.“

“One candidate [Vance] implied there's a debate whether or not carbon emissions cause climate change and the other [Walz] boasted, ‘We are producing more natural gas and more oil at any time than we ever have,’” says Huber.

“In 2020, there were real proposals like the Green New Deal that aspired to tackle the massive scale of the crisis, but sadly it appears that moment has passed,” Huber adds.

Read more in the ABC News article, “Hurricane Helene brought climate change to Walz-Vance VP debate, but was it enough?”