Biden Off to Quick Climate Action with Popular Support

Credit: Krieg Rasmussun - US Forest Service Fish Lake National Forest

Recent surveys and studies tell us that a majority of Americans both understand and agree that climate change is an existential threat.  Many of them voted in the 2020 Presidential election with that belief in mind.  There was a clear choice in November’s election between who on the ballot placed a high degree of importance on sustainability and environmental protection and who did not acknowledge the issues.  A false argument has existed for too long that there is a binary choice between environmental protection and sustainability vs. promoting the economy. 

Pew Research Center data shows that a combined 68% of registered voters consider climate change to be an “important” or “very important” issue – up from 44% in 2009.  Moreover, a post-election report by Yale and George Mason University found that 66% of registered voters believe developing sources of clean energy should be a “high” or “very high” priority for President-Elect Biden and Congress.  While the figure was a whopping 87% among all Democrats, it was merely 43% among Republicans. 

That shift to a super-majority concern about climate change, Trump voter skepticism notwithstanding, followed on another year of attention-grabbing national weather headlines.  NOAA reported that 2020 featured a record number of billion-dollar weather disasters in the United States.  These include seven extraordinarily destructive landfalling tropical systems, three tornado outbreaks, the Midwest derecho last August, and the most active wildfire year on record.  Moreover, the five warmest years on record in the United States have occurred since 2012, including 2020 that finished in fifth place.  In addition, 2020 finished as the second hottest year on record, globally.  

These statistics helped change public attitudes.  Additional Pew Research Data indicates that bipartisan support exists, favoring a range of initiatives to mitigate the impacts of climate change.  Some of those proposals include tax credits for businesses that capture carbon emissions, large-scale tree planting efforts, and tougher fuel standards for vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

This ties into President-Elect Biden’s position on the imperative to protect the environment for our well-being and that of future generations.  That’s one of the big challenges the Biden Campaign promised it would address along with the COVID-19 public health crisis, the need to restart the US economy, and the need to address racial inequities.

President-Elect Biden promised to go beyond recommitting the United States to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.  A key goal is to develop a greener, more sustainable economy related to public transportation.  That’s something President-Elect Biden championed during his Senate career commuting to and from the Nation’s Capital by train.  According to the “Build Back Better” climate initiative, the Biden Administration would provide every American city of 100,000 or more residents “with high-quality, zero emissions public transportation through flexible federal investments with strong labor protections that create good, union jobs and meet the needs of these cities.” 

These initiatives are in contrast to the lack of policy leadership of the past four years.  The Brookings Institution recently described an astounding 74 actions that the Trump administration has taken to weaken environmental regulations.  For example, it reduced the regulation of disposal and storage of coal ash, as well as standards for airborne emissions of mercury.  Those are all byproducts of coal burning power plants.  The fact is the demand for coal continues to decline steadily not because of environmental regulations, but due to decreased market demand.  Less expensive natural gas has reduced reliance on coal by power plants, as have cleaner energy sources such as hydroelectric and wind power. 

Another green initiative the Biden Administration is advocating involves the automobile industry.  The EPA recently reported that for the first time in five years the overall fuel efficiency of automobile traffic in the United States fell and led to an increase in pollution.  Rules issued under the Obama-Biden Administration required U.S. automakers to increase fuel economy by 5% per year, but the Trump Administration decreased that to 1.5% a year. 

The Biden Administration is committed to address that, as well as create new auto industry jobs with incentives to increase production of electric vehicles and charging stations.  Transportation is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, underscoring the need for higher fuel efficiency standards and an increase in affordable electric vehicle production. 

The Biden Administration has a huge opportunity to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while simultaneously creating economic opportunities for U.S. workers.  Such steps enjoy widespread public support and offer a common sense approach to the creation of a “green economy.”