Joe Biden pledges to take climate action without detailing them

(Washington) President Joe Biden promises “strong executive action” to fight climate change, despite double setbacks in recent weeks that have limited his ability to regulate carbon emissions and boost clean energy such as wind and solar energy.

Last month, the Supreme Court limited how the nation’s main air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Then late Thursday, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said he wanted to delay passing a sweeping environmental law that Democrats say is essential to meeting Mr. Biden’s ambitious climate goals.

The US president, who has pledged to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from 2005 levels, said on Friday that “action on climate change and clean energy remains more urgent than ever.

If the Senate does not act to fight climate change and boost clean energy, “I will take strong executive action to meet this need,” Biden said in a statement from Saudi Arabia, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday.

Joe Biden did not specify what climate actions he will take, but said they will create jobs, improve energy security, strengthen domestic manufacturing and protect consumers from rising oil and gas prices. . “I will not back down,” he promised.

Some supporters have urged Mr. Biden to use the moment to declare a national climate emergency and reinstate a ban on crude oil exports, among other measures. Declaring a climate emergency would allow Mr. Biden to redirect spending to accelerate renewable energy such as wind and solar and accelerate the country’s transition away from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. .

Climate activists, including some of Mr. Manchin’s Democratic colleagues in the Senate, have criticized his opposition – noting that this is the second time he has sabotaged climate change legislation.

“It is infuriating and nothing short of tragic that Senator Manchin is once again backing away from essential action on climate and clean energy,” said Minnesota Senator Tina Smith. The world is literally burning as he joins all Republicans in preventing strong action to reduce emissions and accelerate the transition to clean energy.”

Other Democrats said Mr. Manchin’s announcement that he could not support the climate provisions of the Senate bill — at least for now — relieves Mr. Biden of the obligation to satisfy a powerful senator. of the coal state eager to protect his home energy-producing state. Manchin’s vote is decisive in an evenly split Senate, where Republicans unanimously oppose climate action.

Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who has long advocated for stronger climate action, suggested a range of steps Mr Biden could take, including “a strong social cost of carbon rule” that would force energy producers to account for greenhouse gas emissions as an operating cost. The senator also urged Mr. Biden to compel major polluters to use technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions and to impose stricter pollution controls on cars, light trucks and heavy vehicles.

Activists have also called on Mr Biden to reject all drilling on federal lands as well as at sea — a step he promised during the 2020 campaign but did not pass — and to restrict approval of gas pipelines and other fossil fuel projects.

“For too long we have waited for one legislative program to save us and for one legislator to determine our fate,” said Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley. “Now that it is clear that the legislation to solve our climate crisis is dead, President Biden must put us on an urgent path to deal with this catastrophe. »

Quoting Joe Biden’s campaign pledge to end new drilling on federal lands and waters, Merkley said: “Now is the time to show the American people that they mean business by saying no to expansion. of our dependence on fossil fuels.

Even before Sen. Manchin’s planned rejection of climate action, Democrats had cut their plan from about $555 billion in climate spending to just over $300 billion in a bid to gain his support. Proposed tax credits for wind, solar and nuclear power, as well as yet unproven carbon capture technology, could cut emissions by up to 40% by 2030, environmental campaigners have said.

Mr. Manchin had already coerced Democrats into dropping two tax provisions he opposes: direct payments for clean energy credits and tax credits for drivers who buy electric vehicles. Senator Manchin forced further concessions last year, including overturning a proposal that would have paid for utilities that increase clean energy while penalizing those that do not.

Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said he still hoped to salvage the clean energy tax provisions and asserted that failure “really isn’t an option.”

Mr Manchin’s request to postpone action on the climate measure follows a June 30 ruling by the Supreme Court, which said in a six-to-three vote that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

The ruling by the court’s conservative majority likely complicates the Biden administration’s plan to deal with pollution from power plants, but does not eliminate its power to regulate greenhouse gases. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the agency is moving forward with proposed power plant regulations in the coming months.

Ann Clancy, associate director of climate policy for Indivisible, a progressive advocacy group, said it was time for Joe Biden “to stop waiting for corporate-backed Democrats and their bad faith negotiations and deliver real climate victories for the American people.”

“We have no more time to lose,” pleaded Mr.^me Clancy.

In a radio interview on Friday, Mr. Manchin argued that climate activists want an immediate end to US use of oil, coal and gas. “It’s crazy,” he told host Hoppy Kercheval. He believes the United States needs an energy policy that works for the country.