The Climate Under Biden

September 2020 was the hottest month on record globally, and the year 2020 may surpass 2019 to be the warmest year of all time. 2020 has also witnessed the greatest number of tropical storms occurring in single season, a wildfire with the farthest-reaching effects in a century, and the highest costing damages. Scientists predict that these visible effects of climate change will only accelerate further from bad to worse, with more tropical storms and a higher probability of them reaching category 5.

Just in the nick of time, a president whose unhelpful decisions have set back the fight against climate change is to be succeeded by one who has stated several times during his campaign that climate change will be his number one priority throughout his term. On the 11th of November, Joseph “Joe” Biden became President-elect of the United States following the 2020 presidential election. Despite Donald Trump and his supporters’ ongoing denial, Biden’s win was clear and decisive. On President-elect Biden’s transition website, he declared that alongside Covid-19, economic recovery, and racial equity, climate change will be his one of his four main concerns when he enters office in January.

Joe Biden has a strong track record on combatting climate change. In 1986, he was the first senator to bring forth a climate-related bill in Congress. Later, he was instrumental in passing an act through which the U.S could provide debt-relief to foreign countries on the condition that they conserve their tropical forests. But his most notable contributions to the environment were made as vice president in the Obama-Biden administration.

Under President Obama, the U.S underwent a 9.4% decrease in carbon emissions as a result of regulating carbon emissions of power plants through his Clean Power Plan, placing fuel economy standards on vehicles, improving Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) measures, and beginning a shift towards clean energy. As well as investing in clean energy, energy-efficiency was improved via application-and-equipment standards and elevating fuel efficiency standards.

As Vice President, Biden personally oversaw the investment in clean energy and the regulation of carbon emissions. He also played a key role in arranging the 2016 Paris Climate Accords, a landmark climate agreement which 196 countries signed with a collective goal to limit global average temperature increase to 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. As part of the plan, all countries must plan or report on how they are mitigating global warming. For such an initiative, the U.S’s leadership in assembling the world’s countries was essential. This all goes to show that Biden knows the ropes when it comes to climate change.

Unfortunately, the U.S itself, despite calling upon the world together to fight climate change, went back on its promises. The reason being one man, Donald J. Trump.

Shortly after entering office, President Trump began on his promise to undo every environmental policy introduced by Obama, calling them Obama’s “anti-growth agenda”. Except for mentioning how he would remove Obama’s climate change policies, his energy plan, called the “America First” plan, had no reference to renewable energy or climate change, and neither did his White House website. Climate change was also discarded from the list of national security threats.

In stark contrast, Joe Biden has prepared the most ambitious climate plan in U.S history with impressive targets of a 100% clean energy economy by 2030, and net-zero emissions by 2050. Over the course of 10 years, a federal investment of $2 trillion combined with private sector, state, and local investments will amount to a total of $5 trillion to be invested for the climate. Corporations will be largely paying for this as Biden will remove the tax incentives handed to them by Trump. Prime methods to lead towards the goals will be subsidizing clean energy, creating 10 million clean economy jobs, placing pollution standards, exporting cutting-edge climate technology, and reversing Trump’s steps – which most importantly means: oil and gas drilling on public lands will be banned, oil pipelines projects will be scrapped, and the previously unchecked fracking will be regulated.

Biden plans to begin to put into effect policies concerning the environment on Day One. Firstly by issuing executive orders undoing Trump’s revocations, effectively reinstating Obama’s policies. On the same day, he will invest in renovating infrastructure to make it more efficient, smart, and climate resilient, and rejoin the Paris Accords as part of his promise to “rally the world to address the climate threat” and “lead the world through example.” His other Day One plans cover methane pollution limits, lessening vehicle pollution, appliance-and building-efficiency standards, biofuels, and protecting biodiversity.

When it comes to international efforts, Biden wants to make sure the whole world is contributing towards the fight and not just the U.S although it will be the archetype. As all countries on Earth will be on the same boat against climate change, everyone must more rapidly take steps towards mitigating global warming as the clock ticks. By his 100th day in office, Biden hopes to actualize a number of international goals, some of which are: organize a climate world summit to make grander commitments, make agreements to lessen emissions in global shipping and travel, and put a restraint on HFCs.

One less talked about, yet critical aspect of environmental issues is environmental justice. Frontline workers, workers of the fossil fuel industry who work in dangerous conditions with health and safety risks; fence line communities, those near fossil fuel plants and are affected by the noise and toxic emissions and leakage; both will have their tribulations addressed by Biden, who himself grew up in a neighborhood near oil refineries. Most of these communities are either low-income or minority, and Biden will spend 40% of funds in these areas.

To ensure workers of the fossil fuel industry aren’t unfavorably impacted in a smooth and just transition away from fossil fuels, the Biden administration will provide benefits and pensions to them and their families.

That being said, Biden’s biggest obstacle in pursuing his climate plan lies just two miles away from the White House: The Congress. Although Democrats have a majority in the House of Representatives, the Senate has a Republican majority. But the Senate elections have not been called yet.

If the Republicans do retain control of the Senate, they will hinder progress on the climate by not passing many bills such as the $2 trillion climate investment. Back in the Obama-era, they impeded several of his climate bills and throughout his time, fossil fuel lobbyists spent huge sums to influence policymaking. There is a slight chance that bipartisan bills may be passed, as has happened previously with the Save Our Seas Act and the Great American Outdoors Act. But these occur rarely and now, seeing as how lobbyists will spend on them, Republicans will be even more opposed to climate legislation so chances of bipartisan bills will be next to none.

Regardless of the fact that most of Biden’s climate plan requiring legislation, there is still plenty that Biden can do without congressional approval. Using executive powers and other powers that he has as president such as authority over trade and foreign policy, he can go ahead with all his Day One plans. To enact industry policy directly, Biden can assert climate change as a national security emergency. Worldwide extreme weather, a consequence of climate change, has and will continue to result in dwindling resources, leading to a struggle for resources, and hence regional instability. Anticipating this, Biden will declare climate change a “core national security priority”; doing this will come in hand in policymaking. In no case will Biden be pushed behind the eighth ball.

Effects of climate change will only worsen as of now. Predictions of graver tropical storms and forest fires should eventually compel all voters to stop turning a blind eye to a crisis that can no longer be ignored and vote for candidates that give more weight to fighting climate change than corporate interests. Biden is convinced that the question of his reelection in 2024 will largely depend on his performance on the key issues, from which climate change is chief. Until then, we hope that Biden is, as Obama said of him, “strong and resilient” in the next four years, especially in fulfilling the promises on his well-laid climate plan.

References:

https://time.com/5910008/joe-biden-climate-change-election/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heres-how-scientists-want-biden-to-take-on-climate-change/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/13/opinion/sunday/joe-biden-climate-change.html

https://buildbackbetter.com/priorities/climate-change/

https://joebiden.com/environmental-justice-plan/

https://joebiden.com/clean-energy/

https://joebiden.com/climate-plan/

https://qz.com/1927787/what-bidens-win-changes-for-america-china-and-the-planet/#5

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/climate/biden-climate-change.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/11/5-ways-to-think-about-biden-and-the-climate/617053/

https://www.investopedia.com/biden-s-plan-for-climate-change-5083643

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/21547245/joe-biden-wins-2020-climate-change-clean-energy-policy

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/02/15-ways-trump-administration-impacted-environment/

https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/4/28/15472508/obama-climate-change-legacy-overrated-clean-power

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-record/climate

Gore, Al. Our Choice. Rodale, 2009.