Biden could declare a climate emergency
The move would allow the president to resurrect his green agenda and spend on renewable energy projects
JOE BIDEN is considering declaring a climate emergency in the United States in a controversial plan to resurrect his green agenda that has all but stalled amid a split in the Democrats.
The declaration would enable the US president to redirect spending towards renewable energy projects like wind and solar, limit drilling for oil and boost construction of clean energy systems.
Mr Biden’s attempt to push hundreds of billions of dollars in climate change measures through Congress, including investments in electric cars, ended in failure last week. With the Senate evenly split he needed the support of Joe Manchin, the conservative Democrat senator from West Virginia. But Mr Manchin eventually declined to back Mr Biden, infuriating other Democrats.
Some Democrats have urged Mr Biden to respond by declaring an emergency, which would mean invoking powers usually reserved for natural disasters or terror attacks.
Mr Biden was due to set out his latest climate plans in a speech in Somerset, Massachusetts, today as the central United States suffered a heatwave, and temperatures broke records in the UK.
The indications were Mr Biden would not immediately declare an emergency, but White House officials suggested it was under consideration.
He could use the Defence Production Act to ramp up renewable energy projects including solar panels.
Mr Biden has pledged to cut emissions by 50 per cent in 2030, compared with 2005 levels.
A White House official said the president had made clear that he would act if Congress would not.
The official added: “We are considering all options and no decision has been made.”
However, executive action declaring an emergency could face court challenges from Republicans.
Democrat senator Ron Wyden, from Oregon, said: “While I strongly support additional executive action by President Biden, we know a flood of Republican lawsuits will follow.
“Legislation continues to be the best option here. The climate crisis is the issue of our time and we should keep our options open.”
The Supreme Court already limited Mr Biden’s authority to reduce carbon emissions last month.
It decided that the US Environmental Protection Agency did not have power, under the Clean Air Act, to set sweeping caps on emissions from coal-fired power plants.
However, White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein said: “Realistically, there is a lot he [Mr Biden] can do and there is a lot he will do.
“The president will aggressively fight to attack climate change because he knows it’s one of the reasons he’s here. And it is absolutely core to transitioning from where we are to where we need to be.”
Mr Biden had been trying to secure support from Mr Manchin for $300 billion (£250billion) in tax credits for the solar, wind and nuclear industries, along with carbon capture from power plants.
Democrat senator Jeff Merkley said Mr Biden was now “unchained” from Congress and should “go big on climate, starting by declaring a climate emergency so we can take bold action now”.
Ben King, an associate director at the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm, said the US was currently “nowhere close” to meeting the goals Mr Biden had set for reducing emissions.
A White House spokesman said Mr Biden would be “tackling the climate crisis and seizing the opportunity of a clean energy future to create jobs and lower costs for families”.