Newsletter #2: A Biden Win
Former Vice President Joe Biden is now the President-elect of the United States. What does that mean for climate action and sustainability?
Image Credits: OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images
After a drawn-out election, Joe Biden has emerged as the President-elect of the United States. The 2020 US Presidential Election has been described as one of the most consequential in history as the winner can shape social, economic, and international policy for decades to come. Not the least of these issues has been climate change, a riveting anxiety for the young generation. That is why the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led progressive climate group, helped churn out a record number of young voters, reaching 3.5 million young voters in swing states. As President-elect Joe Biden has made climate change a cornerstone of his platform, a pressing question remains:
What does a Biden win mean for the environment and climate action ?
During the last four years, President Trump has made a substantial impact on the environment through regulation and executive authority. The particular attacks on climate action such as the withdrawal of the Paris Agreement, replacement of the Clean Power Plan, and more has compromised the United States’ ability to reduce its dependency on fossil fuel use and built a coherent environment and climate policy for the needs of the 21st century. Overall, President Trump has made 74 actions to weaken environmental protection ranging from rolling back measures for clean air and water protections as well as dismantling climate action efforts made in the Obama administration.
President-elect Biden, however, has made climate change a key part of his platform. His overall goal includes a goal of net-zero U.S. GHG emissions by 2050 as well as a carbon-free electric sector by 2055. These ambitious goals, however, may face some hurdles with the likely prospect of a divided government. Given Congressional gridlock and heightened polarization, it’s unlikely that ambitious climate legislation such as the Green New Deal will pass in the near future.
Therefore, it’s likely that President-elect Biden will usher in a series of executive actions similar to the Obama administration in fulfilling a set of priorities on climate change. This includes a proactive approach with the relevant agencies such as the EPA, Department of Interior, and Department of Energy to reinstate Obama-era and strengthening regulations that President Trump has been working to undermine.
Some of these expected executive actions include
rejoining the Paris Agreement, thus demonstrating the United States and its re-engagement with the rest of the global community on climate change
increasing fuel efficiency standards
requiring aggressive methane pollution limits
Using the federal government procurement system — which spends $500 billion every year — to drive toward 100 percent clean energy and zero-emission vehicles.
Committing that every federal infrastructure investment should reduce climate pollution, and require any federal permitting decision to consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
Some of the challenges that the Biden administration may face include challenges by the courts. Biden will face a 6-3 Republican majority in the Supreme Court and more than 200 Republican federal judicial appointments. While the courts are typically wary of ambitious agency rules, the courts have upheld a series of environment protections and regulation wins even while the Trump administration has argued against them.
As Biden taps in top climate experts to lead his transition teams, it will be interesting to witness how the fossil fuel industry will react to these developments. Already, the Biden administration has come under criticism for picking a fossil-fuel friendly US House Representative as a White House advisor. The next four years will oversee some rapid developments in climate change as the urgency to foster action increases.