It’s Not Just the GOP That Stands in the Way of Biden’s Climate Goals
Organized labor remains divided over the transition to clean energy, though there’s reason to be optimistic
In his first seven days in office, President Joe Biden has made clear that climate change is central to his administration’s agenda. Already, he has rejoined the Paris climate agreement, reinstated Obama-era fuel economy standards, restored national monuments like Bears Ears and Grand Staircase–Escalante, canceled the Keystone XL pipeline permit, and, on Wednesday, issued a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands.
Yet all of these actions, significant as they may be, were delivered via executive order, meaning it would take just a few pen strokes from the next president to reverse them. None of them will bring a meaningful — or fast — reduction in emissions; most are simply efforts to undo the damage caused by Biden’s predecessor. Now, with the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hitting record levels and Earth having just experienced its hottest decade on record, the real question is whether Biden can advance his more ambitious initiatives, like eliminating emissions from the power sector by 2035 and achieving economy-wide net-zero emissions by 2050. Here, there’s some skepticism.
