Biden announces $2 trillion plan to fight climate change
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced on Tuesday a plan to spend $2 trillion over four years to significantly escalate the use of clean energy in the transportation, electricity and building sectors, part of a suite of sweeping proposals designed to create economic opportunities and build infrastructure while also tackling climate change.
In a speech in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden built on his plans, released last week, for reviving the economy in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, with a new focus on enhancing the nation’s infrastructure and emphasizing the importance of putting the United States on a path to significantly cut fossil-fuel emissions.
“These are the most critical investments we can make for the long-term health and vitality of both the American economy and the physical health and safety of the American people,” he said, repeatedly criticizing the president. “When Donald Trump thinks about climate change, the only word he can muster is ‘hoax.’ When I think about climate change, the word I think of is ‘jobs.’ ”
The proposal is the second plank in Biden’s economic recovery plan. His team sees an opportunity to take direct aim at Trump, who has struggled to deliver on his pledges to finance major improvements to American infrastructure. Even before Biden spoke, Trump’s allies denounced the plan as a costly threat to jobs in the energy sector.
The new plan does appear to have made some inroads with a key constituency: the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, which had long been skeptical about the scope of Biden’s ambitions on fighting climate change.
“This is not a status quo plan,” said Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, a prominent environmentalist who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination on a platform of combating climate change and later endorsed Biden.
He added: “It is comprehensive. This is not some sort of, ‘Let me just throw a bone to those who care about climate change.’ ” Inslee called the proposal “visionary.”
Biden’s plan outlines specific and aggressive targets, including achieving an emissions-free power sector by 2035 and upgrading 4 million buildings over four years to meet the highest standards for energy efficiency.
Biden’s original plan called for spending $1.7 trillion over 10 years with a goal of achieving net-zero emissions before 2050. The new blueprint significantly increases the amount of money and accelerates the timetable to four years.