Successful leadership often relies on accountability. It's crucial to stay aware of the promises being made by our current leadership, and what steps they are taking to fulfill those promises, especially when it comes to pressing topics such as climate change. In the United States, President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office will soon come to a close. To help keep him and his administration accountable, we’ll be examining his climate action plans, along with some of his recent accomplishments in tackling the climate crisis.
Since President Joe Biden took office in November 2020, his primary concerns have been repairing the economic and environmental damage from the global pandemic.
Currently, The Biden-Harris Administration has listed climate as one of its immediate priorities stating it will “ensure we meet the demands of science while empowering American workers and businesses to lead a clean energy revolution.”
ensure we meet the demands of science while empowering American workers and businesses to lead a clean energy revolution.
The Administration has also proposed several detailed plans to help achieve sustainability, clean energy, and environmental justice in the US. Biden’s Climate Plan ensures the country will achieve a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions by no later than 2050. This involves making a huge investment in clean energy. Biden has promised to make a $2 trillion accelerated investment to build a sustainable infrastructure This package, if approved, will provide funding toward creating jobs in climate-smart agriculture and moving towards carbon pollution-free power by 2035. 40% of the infrastructure’s money is also projected to go toward disadvantaged communities, ones that are currently burdened by pollution. Though this development is full of promise, others are speculating whether or not the funding will be enough for the country’s needs.
During his first month of the presidency, Biden acted quickly to enforce his policies on combating climate change. On January 20th, he signed an executive order to revoke the permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a looming threat to neighboring communities and the planet. Other notable changes include the development of a new program, the Civilian Climate Corps, which could potentially provide many young Americans with careers in restoring and maintaining the environment, while also uniting communities to fight against climate change.
Another prominent achievement of the administration is the decision to rejoin the Paris climate accords, a global initiative in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and maintaining a stable global temperature. From day one of his presidency, after the former administration walked away from it in November 2020. The country has successfully rejoined as of February 19th of this year, with Biden stating at the Munich security conference, “We can no longer delay or do the bare minimum to address climate change. This is a global existential crisis, and all of us will suffer if we fail.”
This month, we can also expect the US to host a climate summit for nearly twenty countries, most of which are the largest producers of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet. This virtual summit will provide world leaders with the opportunity to discuss their commitments towards using clean energy while innovating tools that will further reduce greenhouse gasses.
You can track the Biden Administration's progress on fulfilling promises related to climate change and other key topics here.