Kentucky governor candidates advocate for ‘all-of-the-above’ energy approach
.png "Candidates for Kentucky’s next governor, Andy Beshear and Daniel Cameron, share their priorities and plans for environmental policies in the Herald-Leader’s 2023 General Election Voter Guide.")
On the issue of energy policy for Kentucky, the positions of Gov. Andy Beshear and Attorney General Daniel Cameron can sound very similar.
Cameron told the Herald-Leader the state needs an “all-the-above energy policy that taps into the full range of resources and solutions.”
In a voter guide from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Beshear said the state needs an “all-of-the-above energy strategy that puts an emphasis on producing affordable and reliable energy.”
As Cameron, a Republican, challenges Beshear in the governor’s race, he would like to lump the Democratic incumbent with President Joe Biden as an extremist out to kill coal, along with power plants that burn it to produce electricity.
But in a red state that produces coal, the energy plan adopted under Beshear does not mention climate change and his “all of the above” strategy, meaning investment in fossil fuels along with investment in renewable energy such as solar power, does not match the position of many national Democrats and environmental groups.
Their view is that the U.S. and the world need to cut the use of fossil fuels — quickly — in order to reduce carbon emissions that cause climate change and dangerous, extreme weather.
The Herald-Leader asked both candidates to respond to this question on the issue of climate change:
Do you agree human activity, including burning coal and other fossil fuels, has caused global warming that drives climate changes such as more intense storms, as the United Nations climate panel concluded? Please explain.
The background: Most scientists who study climate change say greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels is a major cause of global warming, which increases the likelihood of drought, extreme heat, torrential rainfall and more intense hurricanes.
Not everyone agrees, however, so the question is a common one in the discussion of climate change and how the state and nation should respond.
In a March 2022 report, the Pew Research Center said 46% of U.S. adults surveyed said human activity contributes a great deal to climate change, while 29% said it contributes some and 24% said it contributes little or none.
Broken down by political view, 54% of conservative Republicans said human activity contributes “not too much or not at all to global climate change.”
Here are the candidates’ responses to the Herald-Leader:
Cameron — Everyone can agree on the importance of being good stewards of our environment. But I’m not going to do what Joe Biden and Andy Beshear want to do. Joe Biden wants to eliminate the fossil fuels industry by 2035. That would devastate our economy, and Andy Beshear has been silent on it.
I am concerned about monthly gas and electric bills and the overall high cost of living. Energy prices are through the roof, thanks to inflation. Kentuckians can’t afford groceries, let alone Biden and Beshear’s green dreams.
We need an all-the-above energy policy that taps into the full range of resources and solutions. Kentucky attracts businesses, creates jobs, and provides our citizens with reliable and affordable energy due to our homegrown resources like coal and natural gas. Green schemes, and quick, short-sighted transitions will not happen on my watch.
Beshear — Climate change is real, and we need to meet this challenge with a sensible and balanced energy policy that protects our state’s traditional energy resources while attracting new jobs to Kentucky.
Under my administration, Kentucky has become the electric vehicle battery capital of the United States, with projects like the $6 billion investment in the BlueOval SK Battery Park in Hardin County, which is set to create 5,000 jobs, and the $2 billion investment in AESC Gigafactory in Warren County, which will create 2,000 jobs.
I will continue to work with the energy industry and all levels of government to ensure that we can create jobs while keeping energy costs affordable and addressing the threat of climate change.
Beshear has addressed climate issues quietly, analysts say
Beshear is careful not to push on the issue of climate change “for fear it might be used against him in an attack ad,” Tom Morris, political director of the Sierra Club in Kentucky, said in a piece in the club’s newsletter, The Cumberland.
That reticence, while disappointing, reflects political reality, Morris said in an interview.
In a 2021 survey, the share of people in Kentucky who said global warming is caused mostly by human activity — the scientific consensus — topped 50% in fewer than 20 of the state’s 120 counties, according to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
Only one county, Fayette, had a higher percentage of residents than the national level who agreed human activity is heating up the planet.
Cameron has advocated against a number of federal environmental initiatives and proposals, including fuel-efficiency rules that would boost the use of electric vehicles, controls on wastewater discharges from power plants, and tighter limits on greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants.
Cameron joined states suing the Biden Administration for canceling the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline, which would have moved crude oil from Canada to U.S. refineries, and pushed back aggressively against a proposal in Kentucky to replace several coal-fired power plants with gas-fired plants and renewable energy, even though the utility that owns the plants argued for the switch.
Cameron chose state Sen. Robby Mills of Henderson, a strong supporter of the coal industry, as his running mate.
Mills was the primary sponsor of a bill this year that made it harder for utilities to shut down coal-fired power plants.The state’s coal industry supported the bill.
The Kentucky Coal Association does not make endorsements in political campaigns, Tucker Davis, the president, told the Herald-Leader.
“As Kentuckians go to the polls this November, we encourage them to look at candidates‘ energy policies as part of their decision-making process,” Davis said.
Beshear let the bill Mills sponsored to become law without signing it, prompting Mills to respond that Kentucky residents should be glad Beshear was running for re-election “and decided that no action was more politically expedient.”
Cameron has argued that the various initiatives he has pushed back against would make the electric grid less reliable and drive up costs for residents.
A “cascade of burdensome environmental regulations from the Biden Administration has forced many coal-fired plants to shut down, increasing utility rates and destroying the Commonwealth’s competitive advantage in the process,” Cameron said in one release.
The opposing view by environmentalists is that Cameron is trying to impede efforts by federal authorities to improve air and water quality, protect public health and deal with climate change.
Beshear’s record on the environment is less obvious, but environmentalists give him credit for his management.
Tom FitzGerald, former director of the Kentucky Resources Council, said that “during an unsettled time, with the pandemic, natural disasters worsened by climate change, and rising energy costs, the Beshear Administration has attempted to steer a course that advanced public and environmental health and to anticipate and prepare for future climate challenges.”
Lane Boldman, director of the Kentucky Conservation Committee, pointed to the administration’s application for money to expand residential solar and efforts to create residential developments on higher ground in Eastern Kentucky to replace homes houses destroyed or damaged in record flooding last year.
Beshear avoids the political rhetoric, but “certainly is addressing the issue of climate resiliency through his efforts,” Boldman said.
