President Obama’s environmental record will make him remembered as the “greenest” president in history, the White House said Tuesday.
“The president is going to go down in history as the greenest president we’ve ever had,” press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.
{mosads}Earnest’s comment came the same day the administration launched a new initiative to highlight the negative health effects caused by man-made climate change.
Republicans have criticized Obama’s energy and environmental policies, saying they have had a negative impact on job growth. Earlier this year, the GOP slammed the president for vetoing a bill that would have fast-tracked approval for the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
But some environmental groups have said Obama has not done enough to implement climate-friendly policies. This month, green groups ripped new Obama regulations on hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas as an industry giveaway.
Earnest cites fuel efficiency standards for motor vehicles, new Environmental Protection Agency carbon pollution rules and investments in renewable energy sources as major environmental achievements for Obama.