Biden takes steps to put the US on an

Soon after his inauguration in January, Joe Biden began his tenure by signing a series of executive actions to combat climate change, promising to restore scientific integrity and evidencebased policy-making. Just a week into his presidency, the president called climate change an “existential threat” calling all stakeholders to rise up and take action. “We can’t wait any longer. We know what to do. We’ve just got to do it.”

The president’s ambitious plans are to see the country meet its urgent demands for clean energy by 2050. The executive orders he signed into effect will tackle the climate crisis in America transitioning the country to a clean energy economy. the president’s plans also ensure that millions of Americans and business are empowered to lead the nation in a clean energy revolution that will achieve a carbon-free power grid by the year 2035, thus putting the country “on an irreversible path to a net-zero economy by 2050”, the White House said.

“Today’s actions advance those goals and ensure that we are tapping into the talent, grit, and innovation of American workers, revitalizing the US energy sector, conserving our natural resources and leveraging them to help drive our nation toward a clean energy future, creating well-paying jobs with the opportunity to join a union, and delivering justice for communities who have been subjected to environmental harm,”- the White House.

CAN JOE BIDEN MAKE GOOD ON HIS PROMISE? THIS REMAINS TO BE SEEN!

Whether he will be able to achieve his climate agenda- which by the way is the most aggressive agenda to ever be put forward by a leading U.S. President- remains to be seen considering the fact that the president will be trending facing a powerful formidable Republican opposition in the congress. But so far, the actions he

BIDEN TAKES STEPS TO PUT THE US ON AN ‘IRREVERSIBLE PATH’ TO A NET-ZERO ECONOMY BY 2050

has taken, rolling back on the crisis that Trump’s administration left behind seem like a step in the right direction.

However, most experts on climate matters concur that the president still has room to operate and materialize his agenda, including exerting his authority over government agencies, bending them to his will, or using a more subtle approach like appealing to the ‘good’ demeanor of both the parties in the Senate to push his legislature to the congress.

According to Vicki Arroyo, the executive director of the Georgetown University’s Climate Center, President Joe Biden is really the first president in the history of the United States to take a lead on Climate. And while this is exciting, Vicki suggests exercising caution moving forward. Right now, we cannot say that the Capitol is fully on board with this agenda and global warming still remains a huge partisan issue, bringing out the deep divide in the house between the Republicans and Democrats.

“That is going to limit what Biden can accomplish”. Vicki Arroyo.

RE-ENTERING THE PARIS AGREEMENT

Remember the drastic move by the Trump Administration to pull out of the Paris Agreement on November 4 last year? Well, it would seem that the Biden-Kamala administration came at such an opportune time to save the country and rid it the shame Trump put it through. Other players partaking in the Paris Agreement are already preparing to present their views, suggestions, and rounds of commitment during this year’s United Nations Climate Conference in Glasgow, UK.

BUT WHAT IS THE PARIS AGREEMENT REALLY?

The Paris Agreement is a landmark deal that was struck in 2015 and it aims to suppress global warming to “well below” 2°C above the preindustrial temperatures. Plans to back off from the deal were made clear in 2017 by Trump- remember, the United States is the second-largest greenhouse gas emitter and withdrawing from the agreement really curtails all efforts by global leaders to combat the harmful gas emissions. Re-entering the Paris Agreement sets the stage for Biden’s climate agenda as it gives an important boost to the negotiations in November.

THE CONGRESS WILL BE BIDEN’S HAVEN

During the recent presidential elections, the Democrats failed to wrest U.S. Senate control and while they managed to retain control by a small margin, Republicans still hold the majority seats in the Senate. Even though the Democrats won the January run-offs in Georgia it still didn’t change a thing. Congress today is narrowly divided between the two main parties, which makes it a challenge for Biden to pass any major bills.

Just like Obama, Biden took his first opportunity to advance his agenda through Congress by introducing a stimulus bill. However, most experts argue that the bill isn’t really necessary as the economy is doing much better one year since the COVID-19 hit. Biden’s team has made the climate agenda a priority and a top agenda of his economic plan. this can only mean one thing; a stimulus package will be really necessary to increase investments in low carbon and green energy infrastructure.

Let’s go back to Obama’s administration, soon after the stimulus package was introduced, the administration worked hand in hand with the congressional Democrats on legislation to curtail the greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but the bill failed to pass the Senate in 2010. taking lessons from the past, Biden’s safest path would probably be to look for ways to advance a less sweeping climate measure. such a measure that would garner the support of various industry stakeholders would be one that sets the requirements for a cleaner-electricity generation. Right now, most utility companies have to contend with the many requirements for how they use or intend to use and implement renewable energy to meet consumer’s electricity needs, federal legislation that aims at simplifying things and may level the playing field for all would be a welcome for all people.