“Lombardo cares more for the profits of Nevada energy companies than protecting Nevadans from the effects of climate change…”
Joe Lombardo is getting blasted for his dangerous refusal to take climate action, including his recent decision to withdraw Nevada from the U.S. Climate Alliance while Nevada increasingly sees extreme weather including heat waves, drought, and wildfires. Per usual, Lombardo is laser-focused on special interests and enriching energy companies instead of working for Nevadans.
Read more below about Lombardo’s out of touch priorities.
Las Vegas Sun: Editorial: Lombardo dismisses climate concern despite current evidence
July 15, 2023
Key Points:
- Amid an extreme heat wave that every responsible climate scientist says is part of human-contributed climate change, Lombardo has elected to voluntarily withdraw Nevada from the U.S. Climate Alliance and is advocating for increasing the amount of fossil fuels used in Nevada homes and for Nevada energy production.
- In a statement, Lombardo said the alliance’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and thus reducing the impacts of global climate change “conflict with Nevada’s energy policy objectives.”
- That’s a polite way of saying that Lombardo cares more for the profits of Nevada energy companies than protecting Nevadans from the effects of climate change, which are already creating havoc statewide.
- It’s undeniable that the climate is changing. Extreme weather is now the norm.
- None of this matters to Lombardo, who is following his soulmate, Donald Trump. Trump pulled out of the Paris climate accords as one of his first acts and helped pave the way for the devastation that has hit Nevada so hard. It seems that is how we make America and Nevada great again — we ignore science and imperil people.
- Lombardo didn’t even bother to ask Nevadans about their thoughts on climate change, let alone give credence to our opinions.
- If he had, he would know that more than half of Clark County residents and nearly two-thirds of those in Washoe County say that climate change impacts them daily, according to a 2022 Suffolk University/Reno Gazette-Journal poll.
- That’s consistent with a 2021 poll by the Nevada Conservation League, which showed that 82% of Nevada voters believe that climate change is a serious problem and 67% agree with the statement “climate change is already having a serious impact on this part of the country.”
- [Lombardo] vetoed bipartisan bills that would have required counties to develop heat mitigation plans and created heat-management guidelines for employees with outdoor workers. These are commonsense reforms that asked for little more than a plan for how corporations and local governments intended to deal with extreme summer temperatures. That was a bridge too far for Lombardo.
- Now he’s following up on those vetoes by removing Nevada from the climate alliance and advocating for increasing the use of fossil fuels.
Read the full editorial here.
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