Obama and Perry clash over climate science

Obama tells GOP audience that Rick Perry, a governor whose state is on fire, is 'denying climate change'


By BusinessGreen staff

26 Sep 2011

President Barack Obama has launched the most direct attack to date on his likely rival in the 2012 presidential race, mocking Texas governor Rick Perry's climate change scepticism.

In an indication that climate change and environmental policies are likely to play a key role in next year's presidential elections, Obama told the audience at a fundraising event that the Republican candidate's rejection of climate science was part of a "puzzling" transformation of the GOP.

"Some of you here may be folks who actually used to be Republicans but are puzzled by what's happened to that party, are puzzled by what's happening to that party," he was reported as saying. "I mean, has anybody been watching the debates lately? You've got a governor whose state is on fire denying climate change."

Obama's comments drew an immediate riposte from Perry, with a spokesman for the governor telling the influential Hill blog that it was "outrageous" the president would mount a "political attack" based on wildfires in Texas that have resulted in the loss of 1,500 homes.

Climate change looks set to become a key battleground during the 2012 presidential race, with all three of the leading Republican candidates - Perry, Michelle Bachmann and Mitt Romney - expressing doubts over the scientific consensus on climate change in recent weeks.

Perry has emerged as the most outspoken critic of the scientific orthodoxy and policies designed to curb greenhouse gas emissions, alleging that climate scientists were guilty of fixing data to help secure funding and arguing that the Environmental Protection Agency should not be allowed to regulate emissions.


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