Obama: GOP ‘Literally the Only Major Party’ in World ‘Still Engaging in Climate Denial’

INSKEEP: “Have you insulated the climate deal, for example, which is so important to your legacy, from being undone by future presidents, given that many of the commitments you made in Paris are not legally binding?”
OBAMA: “Well, keep in mind that the Republican Party in the United States is perhaps literally the only major party in the developed world that is still engaging in climate denial. Even far-right parties in other places acknowledge that the science shows that temperatures are going up and that that is a really dangerous thing we’ve got to do something about. And the deal that we struck in Paris was an example of American leadership at its best. We were able to mobilize 200 countries to make serious commitments that are transparent, where every country is going to be held accountable, where everybody chips in, and it doesn’t solve the entire problem, but it puts the world on track to deal with a problem that could be monumental in its effect if we don’t do something about it. Now, the Republican Party right now is still resistant to it, but I’m confident that given the progress we can make with the clean power plant rule that reduces carbon emissions through our power plants —
INSKEEP: “Which dozens of Republican governors are suing.”
OBAMA: Well, they oppose, but it’s under the Clean Air Act and we are confident that it’s within our power. I think that the signal that we are sending to the private sector, that will in turn invest heavily in solar and wind and battery technologies, the doubling of fuel efficiency standards on cars, all these things start taking on a momentum of their own. And we have seen this since I came into office. Since my inauguration, the amount of wind power has tripled, the amount of solar power has gone up by 20 times. We’ve seen the costs of clean energy go down much faster than any of us anticipated. And the reason is is because people started adapting, and it turns out that, hey, Americans know how to innovate.
INSKEEP: “So they can’t stop you?”
OBAMA: “And when we decide — what it means is that by the time that even a Republican president came into office, what you would have seen would be a growing realization that not only should we do something about climate change, but it’s not only a challenge, it’s also an opportunity, that it’s creating jobs, that it’s making a difference in people’s lives, that consumers are saving money. When I doubled fuel efficiency standards on cars, that puts money in people’s pockets. When you retrofit a building so that it’s got better temperature control and you cut your light bill by 20 percent, 30 percent, you know what? Even consumers — or even Republican consumers end up saying that’s not a bad deal. In fact, when it comes to solar power, you’ve got this weird coalition between environmentalists and Tea Party-ers in some western states because the traditional dirty fuel industry is trying to prevent greater utilization of solar power. So a lot of these things get institutionalized not just through government policy but through the impact that it has on the marketplace and the private sector.”