The US election presented a crossroads for Americans and how they would approach the climate crisis. On one hand, the 45th president had repeatedly questioned whether climate change existed and refuted scientists’ warnings, calling them ‘prophets of doom.’ On the hand, the president-elect Joe Biden called climate change the greatest ‘challenge facing our country and our world.’ Do not underestimate the boldness of this statement – climate change became a thorn in Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Many viewed Clinton as disingenuous, as she vowed to improve the lives of working Americans, but lost votes as she was viewed as unsupportive of the coal industry. At the time, she stressed that the US could become a ‘clean energy superpower’ and many turned away from here, fearing that her green energy plans were not ambitious enough. It seems that she couldn’t win.
But this election was different – four years under Donald Trump had done huge damage to the US’s reputation abroad and many Americans were increasingly aware that the US were running down the clock on coal dependency and would lose influence if they continued as the second-biggest greenhouse gases. Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris agreement was viewed as both an act of sabotage against the UN climate process, but also multilateralism.
Despite the backlash Clinton endured, climate issues were central to Biden’s successful election campaign. Most notably, he assured voters he would recommit the US to the Paris Agreement on climate change. In his campaign, he stated that he would lead an effort to get every major country to ramp up the ambition of their domestic climate targets and make sure those commitments are transparent and enforceable. As a multilateralist, he has also committed that the US will fully integrate climate change into foreign policy and national security strategies, as well as their approach to trade.
Biden is also proposing to make US electricity production carbon-free by 2035 and to have the country achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Whilst the latter is quite far flung target, it will cost the US taxpayer dearly. Reaching net zero requires that any carbon emissions are balanced by absorbing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere by, for example, planting trees. Once in office, Joe Biden wants to spend $2 trillion over four years to drive down emissions by upgrading four million buildings to make them more energy efficient. He wants to spend heavily on public transport, to invest in electric vehicle manufacturing and charging points and give consumers financial incentives to trade up to cleaner cars.
This past summer, wildfires driven by high winds and a heat wave caused devastation on America’s west coast. More hectares have been burnt than at any time in history. Scientists have already attributed the 15 lives lost, 500,000 evacuations, and thousands of homes destroyed to climate change. Whilst it is harder to quantify both the economic value and and the value to livelihoods for swerving further climate disasters, many regions of the US are already feeling the effects of climate change. Whilst we cannot turn back the clock on four years of wasted efforts on climate, Biden will have to get to work quickly to ensure he can protect those most vulnerable and fight for net zero.
onsundays.tech.blog 