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US parties divided over climate change

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The divide between American advocates and skeptics over whether to do something about climate change has widened during President Barack Obama’s time in the White House, a report says.

Democrats say government actions are necessary, while Republicans fear drastic steps could stifle the economy, and question whether the scientific proof is strong enough to justify such action, The Hill reported Saturday.

A UN report this week warned of dire consequences from greenhouse gas emissions and called for action from environmental groups.

“I would have been shocked if this would have caused anybody to change what they thought,” Andy Dessler, a professor of atmospheric science at Texas A&M University, said, as reported by the newspaper. “If people are persuaded by evidence, they would have been persuaded long ago.”

Democratic lawmakers and President Obama has so far pushed for new regulations, such as the push for stricter fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks.

Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe, a Senate’s skeptic of climate change, said, “The pendulum on climate change in the Senate all goes back to each side’s fundamental belief in the role of the federal government with respect to taxing, spending and regulations.”

“The alarmists of man-made climate change tend to support big government policies and believe that Washington knows best how to take care of the people rather than the local communities and families,” Inhofe said. “These policies limit freedom and make it more difficult for people to pursue the American dream.”

A day after the UN’s report was released, the House or Representatives passed legislation that encourages the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to focus more on weather prediction.

Eric Smith, a political science professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said Republicans “don’t think that this is a serious problem.”

Recent surveys suggest that most Americans think climate change is occurring.

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