Source: VOA
WASHINGTON – U.S. Democratic challenger in the November national election, former Vice President Joe Biden, focused Monday on the historic destructive wildfires on the West Coast.
Biden is remaining in his home state of Delaware, as he has for much of the campaign, to avoid large crowds and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Trump continues his campaign rallies in front of thousands of sign-waving supporters, few of whom wear face masks.
Biden, in an outdoor speech near his home in Wilmington, decried Trump’s refusal to acknowledge the scientific underpinning of the climate crisis as „unconscionable“ and said the U.S. leader had failed to protect the country from the „ravages of climate change.“
„Donald Trump’s climate denial may not have caused these fires and record floods and record hurricanes, but if he gets a second term, these hellish events will continue to become more common, more devastating and more deadly,“ Biden said.
„If you give a climate arsonist four more years in the White House, why would anyone be surprised if we have more of America ablaze?“ Biden said. “If you give a climate denier four more years in the White House, why would anyone be surprised when more of America is under water?“
Biden has made combating climate change a centerpiece of his campaign, while Trump early in his presidency withdrew the U.S. from the international Paris climate change pact.
Over the weekend, Biden said the West Coast wildfires may be the start of an “unending barrage of tragedies” if countries across the globe do not curb climate-warming emissions. His campaign platform calls for eliminating carbon pollution from power sources over the next 15 years.
“The science is clear, and deadly signs like these are unmistakable — climate change poses an imminent, existential threat to our way of life,” Biden said. “President Trump can try to deny that reality, but the facts are undeniable.”
