--- description: Joe Biden got a B on a climate change report card ranking Democratic presidential candidates released by the liberal environmental group Greenpeace. title: Greenpeace Gives Joe Biden a B on Climate Change Report Card image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt030bc277ab6b3517/69894a937cdbac6471d5f981/joe-biden.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2020 Election](/tag/2020-election/) ## 2020 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Greenpeace Gives Joe Biden a B on Climate Change Report Card by [Ari Natter / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Ari Natter / Bloomberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 11:15 PM CUTPublished: May 30, 2019 4:22 PM CUT  Former U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden received a nearly failing grade from Greenpeace for his climate change statements. Former U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden received a nearly failing grade from Greenpeace for his climate change statements.Drew Angerer—Getty Images by [Ari Natter / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Ari Natter / Bloomberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 11:15 PM CUTPublished: May 30, 2019 4:22 PM CUT Joe Biden got a D-minus on a climate change report card ranking Democratic presidential candidates released Thursday by the liberal environmental group Greenpeace. **Update:** Greenpeace [revised](https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/update-bidens-new-climate-plan-improves-his-greenpeace-grade-from-d-to-b/ "undefined") its grade for Biden to “B” in June of 2019, citing “his commitments to investing in renewable energy and achieving net zero emissions by 2050.” Biden, the Democratic front runner, has yet to release a detailed plan on how he will combat climate change. But the [scorecard](https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/actions/candidate-scorecard-2019/ "undefined") evaluated 19 candidates on their commitments to ending the use of fossil fuels and support for environmental policies based on statements, legislative records and published plans. Some candidates also responded to a 29-question survey from the environmental group. “If he wants to translate his front-runner status in the polls to actual leadership on climate, we need him to come out with a bold, concrete plan in line with the scale of the crisis we’re facing,” said Janet Redman, climate campaign director for Greenpeace USA. The Biden campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. During a campaign swing in New Hampshire earlier this month, the candidate called for an “environmental revolution,” though he has yet join many of his Democratic campaign opponents in signing onto the Green New Deal. “We have an existential threat,” he said. “If we don’t act quickly we’re going to basically lose everything we have.” The report comes as the issue of climate change has emerged as a marquee issue for Democrats on the 2020 campaign trail following the release of New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s ambitious plan to fight climate change called “The Green New Deal.” Support for that initiative was part of the Greenpeace score. Washington Governor Jay Inslee, who is basing his run for president on the need to fight climate change, received the highest score, an A-minus, on the report card. The next highest were Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, who each received a B-plus from the group. Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, who has been supportive of his state’s abundant oil and gas industry, also received a D-minus. The report gave both GOP presidential candidates Bill Weld and President Donald Trump an F. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5598313/jo-biden-climate-change-report-card/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5598313/jo-biden-climate-change-report-card/"},"headline":"Greenpeace Gives Joe Biden a B on Climate Change Report Card","datePublished":"2019-05-30T16:22:16.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T23:15:51.000Z","description":"President Donald Trump got an F","url":"https://time.com/5598313/jo-biden-climate-change-report-card/","keywords":["2020 Election","Joe Biden","Bloomberg","onetime","T100 2019 Pioneers"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt030bc277ab6b3517/69894a937cdbac6471d5f981/joe-biden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ari Natter / Bloomberg"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt030bc277ab6b3517/69894a937cdbac6471d5f981/joe-biden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Greenpeace Gives Joe Biden a D- on Climate Change","caption":"Greenpeace Gives Joe Biden a D- on Climate Change","creditText":"Drew Angerer—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2020-election/","name":"2020 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5598313/jo-biden-climate-change-report-card/","name":"Greenpeace Gives Joe Biden a B on Climate Change Report Card"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Joe Biden For President: America Is An Idea","description":"Joe Biden For President: America Is An Idea","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/nALFn5is/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2019-04-25T10:17:26.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nALFn5is.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5598313/jo-biden-climate-change-report-card/","duration":"PT3M30S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5598313/jo-biden-climate-change-report-card/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```