A look at Mike Huckabee’s environmental platform and record

Update: Mike Huckabee dropped out of the presidential race on Mar. 4, 2008.

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who served as governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, touts energy independence as one of his top priorities. He dodges the issue of whether humans are responsible for global warming, saying we don’t know for sure, but argues that we should still act to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Whenever he’s asked about climate change or the environment, he wraps in religion, saying we have a spiritual obligation to protect God’s creation.

Read an interview with Mike Huckabee by Grist and Outside.

Key Points

Places high priority on energy independence. On his campaign site, he says, “The first thing I will do as president is send Congress my comprehensive plan for energy independence. We will achieve energy independence by the end of my second term.”
Is not convinced that climate change is largely driven by human activity, but believes we should take steps to curb greenhouse-gas emissions anyway.
Supports a mandatory, economy-wide cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in the United States.
Supports expansion of nuclear energy.
Supports oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and offshore in U.S. waters, but says, “In the long term, we need to get off oil altogether.“
Supports raising fuel-economy standards for automobiles to 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
Emphasizes that there’s a religious and moral imperative to conserve resources and protect the earth.