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Without Congress, he’ll be limited to executive action, just like Obama.
As polling almost unanimously (over)predicted, Joe Biden has amassed the electoral votes necessary to become the 46th president of the United States. The outlook for global warming has consequently been upgraded from hopeless to merely very desperate.
Without the Senate, which will likely remain in Republican hands (though control could come down to two runoffs in Georgia), Biden’s power to effect the kind of radical change called for by the Green New Deal will be substantially curtailed. But he will not be powerless — there are expansive parts of his climate agenda that he can drive through executive power alone.
Biden ran on an ambitious climate agenda
As part of the most progressive policy agenda of any Democrat in recent history, Biden ran on an ambitious plan to address climate change and its effects. It promises a suite of standards and incentives to decarbonize electricity, transportation, industry, and other polluting sectors; $2 trillion in investments in clean energy, infrastructure, and community development; and a series of measures to ensure that vulnerable communities — vulnerable to the effects of pollution and climate change, or vulnerable to the transition away from fossil fuels — are protected.
Biden’s three-part focus on standards, investments, and justice (SIJ) reflects a broad alignment in the Democratic Party, from environmental justice and climate groups on the left to moderates in Congress. Climate change has consistently polled as a top concern among Democratic voters this year, not only young and committed Democrats but among wavering Trump voters. It has been a prominent part of the Biden campaign and served as his final pitch in many swing states.
Much of the sweeping climate agenda in the plan requires legislation, which is not going to be possible with Mitch McConnell in charge of the Senate. There is some slim chance Democrats in the House and Republicans in the Senate can work together to pass more stimulus, or do something on infrastructure (which could include plenty of climate-friendly stuff), but the most likely result is that McConnell continues his strategy of scorched-earth partisan warfare and nothing but essential budget bills pass.
Click here to access the entire article as originally posted on the Vox website.
Joe Biden will be president, but there will be no Green New Deal by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Nov 6, 2020/p>
Hat tip to the Stop Climate Science Denial Facebook page.
Posted by John Hartz on Sunday, 8 November, 2020
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