WASHINGTON (AP) – A year ago, Joe Biden celebrated his first Earth Day as president by inviting world leaders to a virtual global warming summit attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and even China that Xi Jinping. Biden used the moment to nearly double the U.S. goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, putting the country at the forefront of the fight against climate change.
But the ensuing months were full of setbacks. Biden’s broader proposals are still pending on Capitol Hill, despite another warning by scientists that the world is heading for a dangerous future marked by extreme heat, drought and weather.
Additionally, the war in Ukraine changed climate change policies, which resulted in Biden removing oil from the country’s strategic reserves and Encouraging more drilling hoping to reduce high gas prices, which is depleting US wallets.
This is far from the pursuit of clean energy that Biden – and his supporters – envisioned when he was in office. While Biden raised fuel economy standards for cars and incorporated green policies into bipartisan infrastructure legislation last year, the lack of more development casts a shadow on his second Earth day. as president.
Biden on Friday marks a moment in Seattle, where he will be joined by Governor Jay Insley, a Democrat with a national reputation for climate action. Biden is also expected to visit Portland on Thursday Pacific Northwest Rocking, a region that is often at the forefront of environmental efforts.
Administration officials have defended Biden’s record on global warming and say more work is needed.
“Two things can be true at the same time,” said Ali Zaid, vice president and national climate advisor. “We have a lot to achieve and we have a long way to go.”
Zaidi acknowledged that “we have obstacles, we have challenges”, but also said the president has “a mandate to move forward in this direction”.
Kyle Tisdell, program director for climate and energy at the Center for Environmental Law in the West, said Biden did not fulfill the promises of the Earth Day summit last year.
“Climate action is the backbone of President Biden’s campaign and his commitment to this existential issue is the main reason why the public chose him,” Tisdell said. “Achieving climate change is not a matter of internal politics, it is life or death.”
Biden expects to approve a $ 1.75 trillion plan to expand education programs, social services and environmental policies. But Republicans opposed the bill, known as Build Back Better, and it failed to win united support from Democrats with a small majority in the Senate.
The final blow was given to Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va., who owes his personal wealth to coal and represents a state more determined by the mining of this fossil fuel. Democrats are hoping to revive the bill in some way, but it’s not clear what Mancini will support, putting any possible agreement at risk.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said this week that talks were ongoing, though Biden did not publish it. “Just because he’s not talking about it doesn’t mean it’s not happening behind the scenes,” he said.
Administration officials are expected to speak at a rally outside the White House on Saturday as climate, labor and social justice groups call on Congress to pass climate legislation before Memorial Day. Similar events are expected in dozens of cities. , while activists emphasize the need for large investments to increase clean energy and create jobs.
The White House wants approval for more than $ 300 billion in clean energy tax breaks, which supporters describe as crucial to Biden’s goal of reducing emissions by 52% by 2030 to 2005.
Without the tax breaks, “I see no way,” said Nat Kehan, Obama’s former energy adviser who is now president of the Center for Independent Climate and Energy Solutions. “Reaching the midterm elections in November without them“ is breaking the promise in the first year, ”he said.
Asked if Biden’s goal is to reduce emissions, Psaki said: “We continue to implement it and will continue to do everything possible to achieve it.”
Psaki noted that the $ 1 trillion infrastructure law covers a range of climate policies, including funding for the construction of a 500,000-car charging station. However, approximately 30 million chargers will be needed by 2030, according to analysis by consulting firm McKinsey.
The war in Ukraine exacerbated internal political challenges in global energy markets and rising gas prices.
As the legal battle continues, Biden is encouraging new domestic production.
“The bottom line is that if we want to lower gas prices, we need to provide more oil now,” Biden said in March.
The lease plan “is a vicious betrayal of Joe Biden’s election promises and his administration’s rhetoric on environmental justice and climate action,” said Colin Reese, U.S. oil exchange director at Oil Change International. .
“Biden has chosen to stand on the side of pollution with people at the forefront at the expense of communities and the future of the planet,” he added.
The war in Ukraine has also hampered diplomatic efforts against climate change.
John Kerry, Biden’s international spokesman on climate change, has focused most of his efforts on making China, the world’s largest consumer of coal, move faster toward clean energy. But the job is “harder now” as China defends Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kerry said on Wednesday.
“Some differences of opinion between our countries have intensified and intensified, and this is exacerbating diplomacy,” he said in an online discussion with the Center for Global Development on climate finance.
Kerry’s aides have denied rumors that he may leave the administration now that he has been in office for more than a year, and he remains a staunch supporter of Biden’s climate efforts. But his tone has become more pessimistic recently, especially since Biden’s climate proposals have stuck in Congress.
The administration was also alarmed by recent reports that Biden’s indoor climate consultant Gina McCarthy plans to step down. McCarthy called the reports “inaccurate” and said he was “excited about future opportunities”.
Another effort associated with Biden’s climate could divide the community environment. His Administration Plans to Fund $ 6 Billion to Prevent the Closure of Financially Disadvantaged Nuclear Power Plants. While the facilities produce carbon -free electricity, some activists are keeping a close eye on them because of concerns about potential nuclear waste disposal and destructive accidents.
“We are using all available tools to get clean energy out of the country by 2035,” Energy Minister Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.
Abigail Dylan, president of environmental group Earthjustice, said “souls have darkened” after bankruptcy last year. While praising some of the policies Biden has achieved so far, he said that “this is not the measure of climate change we need: a complete halt.”
Now, Republicans are poised to regain control of at least one House of Representatives in mid-term elections in November, which means there is a limited window of progress. Dylan and several other activists suggested that Biden declare a state of emergency and use the Defense Production Act to increase renewable energy.
“It’s time to stop,” he said.
Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Ellen Nickmeier contributed to this report.
Source: Huffpost
