Washington Gov. Inslee focuses on climate change in 2020 bid

Associated Press

SEATTLE

Declaring climate change the nation’s most pressing issue, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee launched his 2020 Democratic presidential bid Friday with a promise to refocus American government and society.

“It is time for our nation to set a new priority,” Inslee told supporters gathered at a solar panel business in Seattle. “This is truly our moment. It is our moment to solve America’s most daunting challenge and make it the first, foremost and paramount duty of the United States ... to defeat climate change.”

The 68-year-old former congressman becomes the first governor to enter a race dominated by senators. Former Vice President Joe Biden and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke also are expected to make highly anticipated 2020 announcements in the coming weeks.

But Inslee says his emphasis on combating climate change sets him apart from his competitors and from Republican President Donald Trump.

“We are all angry and outraged by this president,” he said, adding that rather than get drawn into Trump’s vortex, he would “unite Americans in this moment to solve our most urgent problem.”

Inslee frames climate action as an economic opportunity, not just a moral imperative. He didn’t talk specifically Friday about the costs of his vision, other than to criticize considerable tax subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.