Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear avoids climate change in reelection bid - The Washington Post

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear avoids climate change in reelection bid - The Washington Post

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) rarely mentions climate change. That might help him win a Nov. 7 reelection match in his coal-rich state.

“He’s really trying to message and position Kentucky for the energy transition while not alienating his electorate by going too far in those sorts of discussions,” said Sasha Mackler, the executive director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s energy program.

Beshear is a liberal Democrat on many issues — supporting abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights and unions. But he has mostly walked a tightrope on the Biden administration’s climate agenda, which is opposed by many of his conservative constituents. Many of them depend on the coal industry, which has mined nearly 10 billion tons of the potent fossil fuel there since the late 18th century.

In March, Beshear allowed a bill to become law that would make it more difficult to shut down retired coal plants. At the same time, he’s been touting the construction of new renewable energy projects on former mine sites.

As temperatures rise across the globe, Kentucky has faced a string of extreme weather disasters, including flooding in the summer of 2022 that contributed to at least 44 deaths. In the aftermath of such disasters, Beshear has so far declined to explicitly link them to climate change or human-caused warming from fossil fuels.

“I wish I could tell you why we keep getting hit here in Kentucky,” he said last summer. “I wish I could tell you why areas where people may not have much continue to get hit and lose everything. I can’t give you the why, but I know what we do in response to it. And the answer is everything we can. These are our people. Let’s make sure we help them out.”

Lane Boldman, the executive director of the Kentucky Conservation Committee, said that Beshear is probably being tight-lipped on climate as part of broader political strategy against Cameron, the state attorney general, who has been endorsed by former president Donald Trump.

“Coal politics is a politically charged topic, and it’s a sensitive topic,” she said. “I think if you’re going to be a politician in Kentucky you have to be sensitive to that history.”

Adam Enders, an associate professor of political science at the University of Louisville, agreed.

“This is partially ideological — Beshear is probably best thought of as moderate Democrat who only leans left,” he said in an email to The Washington Post. “And it’s partially practical — Beshear is the Democratic governor of a red state with a long history of coal mining.”

While scientists say a rapid transition from fossil fuels is crucial for avoiding the worst predicted impacts of global warming, neither Beshear nor Cameron has made climate an issue in their campaigns, and spokespeople for both candidates did not respond to inquiries on their respective positions.

Beshear’s record on climate-related issues shows he can both paddle to the left and paddle to the right.

Since becoming governor in 2019, Beshear has signed one of the nation’s most stringent bans on sustainable corporate governance, prohibiting consideration of “environmental, social and governance” (ESG) policies in state investments. He also signed a bill to prevent businesses from operating in Kentucky if they are found to be “boycotting” fossil fuels.

Over the summer, Beshear rejected millions of dollars in federal climate funding from last year’s landmark climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, specifically for a program that gave states $3 million each to develop and implement plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution. At the time, Beshear’s administration said it didn’t seek the funding because the state’s three biggest cities — Louisville, Lexington and Bowling Green — were in a better position to apply.

In addition, his energy plan does not mention global warming at all, nor does it describe clear targets for bringing renewable energy to scale — a stark contrast from the swift emissions reduction priorities of the Biden administration and other state Democratic leaders.

But on his campaign website, the Bluegrass State governor touts work to help facilitate huge investments in resilience and clean energy, including by bringing $8 billion and more than 7,000 jobs to Kentucky between two new electric-vehicle battery plants, making it the “Electric Vehicle Battery Capital of the United States.”

His administration has also applied for federal money from the climate law aimed at boosting energy efficiency, such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All grant that seeks to expand access to residential solar in disadvantaged communities.

Boldman said Kentucky has long been playing “catch-up” when it comes to clean energy infrastructure, since much of the state has been low-income for a long time.

“It may not be as sexy as some of the more newer innovative things that they could have applied for,” she said. But “they certainly have prioritized things in a way that makes sense” and “is probably the base work that should happen.”

Many Republicans in the state disagree: “I am unaware what, if anything, he has accomplished for the environment, Kentuckians, or the Commonwealth as a whole,” state House Speaker David Osborne (R) said in an email. “The Governor’s only contribution to the legislative process since being elected is the 110 vetoes he has issued that we have in turn overridden.”

On multiple occasions, Cameron has joined Republican-led states in challenging new EPA proposals, including standards to slash emissions from coal power plants, rules to reduce tailpipe pollution and efforts from the Energy Department to make gas stoves more energy efficient.

But while those moves have not won Beshear praise from Republicans, Kentuckians seem to appreciate his middle-of-the-road politics. An August poll in Kentucky gave the governor a 58 percent job approval rating, compared with 28 percent for President Biden.

Mackler said Kentucky’s race, and others like it, could be used as a steppingstone for advancing bipartisan approaches to energy.

“They’re talking about solutions in a very pragmatic way, which I think appeals to Democrats and Republicans,” he said. “I think there is a lesson there for what’s possible at the national level or for the next set of policies across the country as we look ahead.”