Romney says climate change happening, humans contribute

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney said Monday that he believes climate change is happening and human activity is a significant contributor.

During a speech at the conservative Sutherland Institute in Salt Lake City, the senator acknowledged that the position is rare among his fellow Republicans, but one that younger people seem to respond to more strongly than older conservatives.

"In some respects, (by speaking with newer conservatives), I'll be able to make inroads with some of the young people coming along," he said.

The former GOP presidential nominee has acknowledged climate change before, and said during his 2018 campaign for U.S. Senate in Utah that "climate realities" will make wildfires more common and destructive in the West. His comments Monday took that stance a step further.

Still, Romney said he's opposed to the Green New Deal economic package intended to fight climate change, calling it "silliness" in part because much of the growth in emissions is coming from developing countries such as India and Brazil rather than the U.S.

The U.S. should instead provide incentivizes for entrepreneurs to develop cleaner energy sources while also helping people who work in industries that could be left behind, such as coal mining, he added.

"I'm not willing to sit by if there are major sectors that are losers ... and watch people and communities suffer because of that change," he said.

Romney discussed the benefits of a carbon tax, a fee based on each ton of carbon dioxide emissions produced by fossil fuels that some major oil companies have adopted. He suggested a portion of the tax revenue could go to coal workers in rural communities that would suffer financially from the move to cleaner power alternatives.

The former Massachusetts governor also...