BY CHLOE FOLMAR
March 8, 2022
-The Hill
Former California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) told The Associated Press in an article published Tuesday that the Biden administration should prioritize climate concerns, comparing the potentially disastrous effects of a climate crisis to war.
Brown exhorted President Biden not to increase U.S. oil production beyond current levels despite rising gas prices and calls from many Republicans for the country to produce more.
“It’s true that the Russians are earning money from oil and gas, but to compound that problem by accelerating oil and gas in America would go against the climate goals, and climate is like war: If we don’t handle it, people are going to die and they’re going to be suffering. Not immediately, but over time,” said Brown.
Brown also expressed concern about the possibility of nuclear war, commending the Biden administration for choosing not to raise the U.S.’s nuclear threat level amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Brown is executive chairman of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, known for its “Doomsday Clock” that measures how close the human race is to self-destruction, and is on the board of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the AP noted.
