Climate, a major separator for Biden and Trump, is a dividing line in many other races, too

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The race for the White House isn’t the only one with big stakes for climate policy. In campaigns for Congress and for governor around the country, candidates are talking about how green the grid should be, too.

Voters are increasingly feeling the impacts of climate change after last summer’s extreme weather. In the debate over how to respond to a warming world, Republicans are promoting an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy. They justify keeping fossil fuels in the mix for economic benefits and for energy security, reliability and independence. Former President Donald Trump has indicated he’ll try to roll back President Joe Biden’s clean energy investments and expand drilling if he returns to office.

Led by Biden, Democrats are talking about the climate crisis as an existential threat. Many want to pivot to wind, solar and renewable resources and phase out fossil fuels that feed warming. Some Democrats in oil- and gas-producing districts are walking a tightrope as their party moves away from fossil fuels but their communities depend on the industry.

The U.S. added clean power resources, energy storage, electric vehicles and emerging technologies like hydrogen and carbon capture and storage at record-breaking levels last year, according to BloombergNEF and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy.

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