Beck revived falsehood that Bill Clinton said "We've got to slow down our economy" to fight global warming
Summary: On his nationally syndicated radio show, Glenn Beck falsely claimed that former President Bill Clinton said, "We've got to slow down our economy" in order to combat global warming, and aired a portion of a speech Clinton made in January. However, as Clinton's full remarks make clear, he did not suggest "slow[ing] down our economy" to fight global warming.
As Media Matters for America noted, Clinton's full quote makes clear that he did not say "[w]e've got to slow down our economy" or "the only way to really do this is to halt the economy." Rather, he said that "rich" countries could take that approach, but it would not work. He said that the "only way" to fight global warming is to prove that doing so "is good economics that we will create more jobs to build a sustainable economy":
CLINTON: And maybe America, and Europe, and Japan, and Canada -- the rich counties [sic] -- would say, "OK, we just have to slow down our economy and cut back our greenhouse gas emissions 'cause we have to save the planet for our grandchildren." We could do that. But if we did that, you know as well as I do, China and India and Indonesia and Vietnam and Mexico and Brazil and the Ukraine, and all the other countries will never agree to stay poor to save the planet for our grandchildren. The only way we can do this is if we get back in the world's fight against global warming and prove it is good economics that we will create more jobs to build a sustainable economy that saves the planet for our children and grandchildren. It is the only way it will work.
