As Hurricane Helene Death Toll Tops 166, Vance Casts Doubt on Climate Science & Carbon Emissions

CBS moderators asked about the climate crisis in Tuesday’s debate between vice-presidential contenders JD Vance and Tim Walz, responding to pressure from activists who urged the network to tie the devastation of Hurricane Helene to the planet’s rising temperatures. “The fact that this question was asked … was a major win for our movement,” says Shiva Rajbhandari, a student climate justice organizer at UNC-Chapel Hill and a spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement. While Walz defended climate science, Vance continued to downplay the climate emergency and cast doubt over the established link to fossil fuels. “JD Vance has no backbone. He is unwilling to stand up to Donald Trump. He is unwilling to disagree with his running mate, and that is dangerous,” says Rajbhandari.