During the October 8th Downstate Gubernatorial Debate in Peoria, candidates for Governor were asked about their position on climate change and whether they supported President Obama’s Clean Power Plan.
The question came from Jamey Dunn at Illinois Issues magazine:
Q: States would play a large role in implementing the proposed federal role to cut carbon emissions. Do you believe that climate change is happening and is man-made and what is your take on the Obama administration’s plan to cut carbon given that the state derives most of it’s electricity from coal?
Bruce Rauner: “I believe we need a broad based portfolio of energy options in Illinois and in America. I do not believe that betting too much on any one sector is prudent- we need a broad base and we need energy independence for America and I’d like to see that also for Illinois. I believe we can have renewable energy resources here, we can have and should have further development of our wind farms, of our solar energy- renewable resources. But I also believe we can be prudent in our energy development from more traditional resources. We have incredible energy opportunity in southern Illinois with coal, with oil and gas, with hydraulic fracturing. It can be a massive job creator and tax revenue generator if we have a broad based portfolio of energy options and I would push every capability in that regard.”
Governor Quinn: “I think we have to reduce emissions and I do think we need to take on climate change. The winter we just had- terrible tornadoes this November here nearby and in Washington and other place in Illinois. I think the alarm signals told all of us that severe weather is something we all need to pay attention to and reducing emissions is part of the job for all of us. And since I’ve been governor, our state has erected many many wind turbines across Illinois. I believe in wind energy and solar energy. I’ve been in the roof of the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago where they have solar collectors at real cost. We also have to believe in energy efficiency and we’ve invested in that in Illinois. Our state is the only state not on a cost that is in the top 10 in energy efficiency states in the country and we’ve been able to do that in my time as governor. We’ve invested in energy efficiency- it’s one of the best ways to reduce emissions, help grow jobs. These are clean energy jobs that create good paying jobs for people by reducing the need for energy whenever possible and I think the state of Illinois can be a leader in this area. We have good workers who are well trained”
You can view the entire debate hereentire debate here The question on climate change is the second one in the debate.
Illinois Sierra Club Blog 