Kamala Harris says she supports plastic straw ban during CNN climate change marathon

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Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., came out in favor of banning plastic straws on Wednesday during CNN's climate change-focused town hall marathon.

When asked what she would do as president to curb the country's reliance on "single-use plastics," Harris pointed to the "images" of plastic bags and bottles that are found in the ocean and celebrated California's ban of plastic bags.

"I think we have to create incentives," Harris told CNN anchor Erin Burnett. "We have seen innovation take place when leaders lead."

CNN'S CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT SAYS NETWORK'S 7-HOUR CLIMATE CHANGE TOWN HALL ISN'T ENOUGH

Burnett then mentioned how banning plastic straws are a "big thing" and asked her if people should ban them.

"I think we should, yes," Harris responded. "Look, I'm going to be honest... It's really difficult to drink out of a paper straw... so we kinda have to perfect that a little bit more."

She added, "Innovation is a process, right? You don't just do it. Innovation is a process, but you know, let's encourage innovation. I think we can do a little bit better than these flimsy plastic straws but we do need to ban the plastic ones."

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Ten of the leading 2020 Democratic candidates were scheduled to appear in a lengthy session focused on the "climate crisis" and spanning seven hours, with each of the candidates allotted roughly 40 minutes.

Other 2020 participants include former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro; businessman Andrew Yang; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; former Vice President Joe Biden; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg; former congressman Beto O'Rourke; and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.