Joe Biden, paralyzed in Congress and limited by the Supreme Court, will nevertheless try on Wednesday to revive his climate promises, announcing new regulatory measures as a heat wave suffocates the United States and several European countries.
The American president will speak, a symbol, from an old coal-fired power plant in Massachusetts. This site, which before its closure in 2017 was considered particularly polluting, is being converted to wind energy.
Joe Biden will make it clear, in a strong speech, that time is running out to tackle the ‘existential threat’ of global warming to the United States and the world, a White House official says under cover of anonymity.
The president must also warn that, “since Congress is not going to act on this emergency, he will,” it was added.
But he should not – at least for the moment – declare a “state of climate emergency” as some elected members of his party are calling for, a maneuver whose impact is not very clear but which could grant him powers. additional policies.
“At His Pace”
The president intends to progress “at his own pace. He has a number of prerogatives he can use” to start, his main climate adviser, Gina McCarthy, explained on CNN on Wednesday.
Among the executive orders he is expected to unveil: additional funds to help protect regions facing extreme heat and measures to boost wind power generation in the United States.
On Tuesday, John Kirby, who coordinates Joe Biden’s communications on strategic issues, insisted that climate change was a “national security” matter that “affects our infrastructure”.
The Biden administration says it is determined to keep its climate commitments, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Joe Biden, who returned to the Paris climate accord left by his predecessor Donald Trump, announced in April 2021 that the United States would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% by 2030 , compared to 2005.
But the American president, as on the right to abortion, the regulation of firearms and many other reform projects, is once again experiencing the limits of his power in environmental matters: he does not have a majority outspoken in Congress, and the judiciary is against him.
His climate agenda took a hit when Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, whose voice is crucial, said he would not support legislation aiming to move the US economy towards clean energy sources, presumably condemning it to failure.
And Joe Biden faces a Supreme Court that has become fiercely conservative and deeply hostile to any centralized regulation, which has just severely limited the powers of the federal state in the fight against global warming.