Republican senator Marco Rubio
Credit: Think Progress

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) reinforced his support for fossil fuels and his opposition to slashing carbon emissions, saying climate policy will hurt jobs, as he faced Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy in a debate Monday.

Asked about sea level rise now affecting Florida, Rubio, a longtime climate denier, said he supports mitigation efforts but opposes laws that aim to cut carbon emissions.

“If in fact sea levels are rising… we should spend money to mitigate that,” he said, but added that “as a policy maker, you have to show me whether the laws you want me to pass will actually impact the issue that you are raising. I have people that come to me and say: we want you to pass these laws on carbon emissions, and I ask them, well how many inches of sea rise will it prevent?”