Focusing on the climate is a big deal in today’s world. With a Democratic administration in office, it is no surprise that discussions about ways to benefit the climate are happening. To further prove this, President Biden has already signed a large amount of executive orders, some of which relate to climate issues.
In an interview yesterday with Rachel Maddow, Chuck Schumer said that President Biden should declare a climate emergency in the United States (Phillips). Schumer also added that “[Biden] can do many, many things under the emergency powers that he could do without legislation” (Fox).
Schumer also pointed out in the interview that President Trump used this strategy for his border wall. When President Trump did it, many within the Republican party were concerned that it would justify others using an emergency declaration for any issue, however. That concern has now become true (Phillips).
Chuck Schumer’s request might be just the beginning of a week focused on new climate policies. “President Joe Biden is expected to unveil a raft of climate, environment and public lands moves on Wednesday, including leasing moratoriums for coal, oil and natural gas on federal land and in federal water” (Roll Call).
Last week, President Biden re-entered the United States into the Paris climate agreement. He also canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, which will cost the U.S. thousands of jobs (Roll Call).
Interestingly, Biden’s climate team is composed of members who served in some facet during President Obama’s administration. One of the biggest names on Biden’s climate team is John Kerry. He is the special envoy on climate change under President Biden and was secretary of state under President Obama. David Hayes will be the special assistant to the president for climate policy. Kerry is 77 and Hayes is 67 (Weaver).
On Sunday, President Biden had a call with French President Emmanuel Macron and part of the conversation was about climate change, highlighting how important this issue is for the new administration (Choi).
Choi, Joseph. “Biden Talks NATO, Climate Change in First Presidential Call with France’s Macron.” TheHill, The Hill, 25 Jan. 2021, thehill.com/policy/international/europe/535605-biden-talks-nato-climate-change-in-first-presidential-call-with.
Hulac, Benjamin J, and Joseph Morton. “Biden Plans Surge of Climate Policies, Including Drilling Pause.” Roll Call, 26 Jan. 2021, http://www.rollcall.com/2021/01/26/biden-plans-surge-of-climate-policies-including-drilling-pause/.
Phillips, Morgan. “Schumer Suggests Biden Declare ‘Climate Emergency’.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 26 Jan. 2021, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/schumer-suggests-biden-declare-climate-emergency.
Weaver, Courtney. “The New Biden Climate Team – like the Old Obama Team.” Subscribe to Read | Financial Times, Financial Times, 25 Jan. 2021, http://www.ft.com/content/a50588fb-ce03-4839-b8e5-7d8296dd8131.
