According to reports, the Biden administration was considering issuing an executive order declaring a national climate emergency. Three unnamed sources were cited by the Washington Post as being aware of the situation. Two anonymous sources were used to make a report from The Hill.
According to the reports, an announcement on the declaration could come during Biden's visit to the shuttered coal plant. The President will deliver remarks on tackling the climate crisis and seizing the opportunity of a clean energy future to create jobs and lower costs for families. A source told the AP that Biden wouldn't be declaring an emergency on Wednesday and would instead be announcing other climate policy.
There are renewed calls for Biden to issue an executive order on climate.
A U.S. climate emergency declaration has been around for a while. Legislation has been tried to get Biden to move. It has been a demand from environmental activists around the world. More than 1,100 organizations signed an open letter requesting an emergency climate order from Biden.
Emergency declarations are common. The National Emergencies Act was passed in 1976. Emergency declarations were used by Trump to get money for his border wall. Emergency orders have been used for the Pandemic response.
There was a week of dashed hopes for climate action. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin once again stopped supporting climate legislation last Wednesday. He said that he wouldn't approve increases in federal spending for clean energy or methane emission penalties until inflation slows and that he would approve the rest of the "Build Back Better" plan. Biden promised "strong executive action".
Manchin has held the rest of the Senate Democrats hostage before, promising to lend his approval if his requests are met and then backing out. He is a political gaslighter. Shame on you if you fool the Democrats once. Shame on the Democrats. Maybe there is something wrong with our political system if you fool them a third time.
Biden seemed to agree last week that significant action can't wait for the Senate to figure itself out. We are running out of time on climate, and every delay makes it worse. Joe Manchin is likely to stay the same. There is no reason for him to do that. Each time he does, he gets a little bit richer, and that's why he keeps stalling climate policy. We need a new climate policy approach instead of pinning our hopes on a single corrupt senator.
Biden could stop exports of crude oil by reinstating a set of restrictions overturned in 2015, halt all offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters, and place new restrictions on fossil fuel trade and investment.A climate emergency could be declared by an executive order. Emergency power could be used to stop offshore drilling, stop crude oil exports, and fund the green energy transition. Or it could simply issue an order and follow it with little else. For the first time, the outcome would be determined by Biden's political will, not Manchin's.
Climate change is a serious problem. Multiple national governments including Canada, South Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom, as well as the most up-to-date comprehensive research report on climate change and its impacts, are said to be that.
According to a February report from the Center for Biological Diversity, if Biden agrees to issue an executive order declaring a climate emergency, he could use the power granted to him by Congress.
The Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act is one of the powers granted. According to the report, Biden could sabotage fossil fuel production and bolster sustainable sector growth.
All offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters and new restrictions on fossil fuel trade could be put in place by Biden. He could increase funding for clean energy and transportation. The question is not if President Biden can make substantial progress on climate, but if he will.
An executive order and emergency declaration wouldn't be enough to solve our climate problems, and many of the actions restricting drilling or investment would face legal challenges from the fossil fuel industry. Each of the suggested actions would be a huge step up from what the Biden administration is currently doing.
Climate change has been referred to as an emergency by the president. The policy could be turned into a meaningful response if he really believed that.
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