Biden’s Plans Battling Trump’s Hoax Legacy
Joe Biden has the office, how will his administration tackle climate change?
By Siddhi Jena
With every new presidency come some changes, but this win for the Democratic Party of America will go down in history. Firstly, as referred to by the New York Times, the “Coronavirus Election” will historically be known as the only American election to be held during a pandemic. Secondly, due to globalization and the USA’s hegemony over the world, the election’s impact will be felt globally. Lastly, the massive voting turnout is all a result of the ‘Trump effect’. Whether it be out of repulsion or devotion, millions have been inspired to vote. Politicians have a massive responsibility now, more so than ever, to improve the world’s economy, social well-being and tackle climate change before the ticking bomb falls upon us. This election is a chance for Americans to show the world how seriously they take climate change, and how far they are willing to go to make amends, ‘“a referendum on climate change”. Add Intext citation
After Biden’s celebrated win, what’s left of the former administration is Trump’s legacy, particularly his impacts on climate change and how Americans view it. In essence, Trump’s climate plan was to start with denial, moving on to inaction and lastly, dismantling and reversing any plans made by Obama’s administration. He later went on to replace the cabinet with elite industry men, giving them perilous power over fossil fuels and large scale industries. One of the historically remembered events that proved America’s apathy towards climate change took place on June 1, 2017. The announcement took place in Rose Garden.“The United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord” Trump, 6/1/17. With this simple remark, Trump terminated 3 billion dollars of funding that is essential to fight against climate change as a global team. After this, Trump’s administration continued to reverse many US commitments on mitigating climate change.
Climate change is a global dilemma and must be fought along with all nations in cooperation. The denial of its existence by the USA may influence other nations to opt not to take action, possibly decreasing the importance and seriousness of international governance, which creates a state of nature in international relations.
Subsequently, Trump has also increased industrialization and production by rolling back on environmental regulation and fast-tracking environmental reviews of major energy and infrastructure projects, making it easier for industries to exploit resources to make money. This poses a pressing question; how did he get away with all of this in a world that is progressively moving towards green and clean energy? Perhaps the single most deplorable and harmful strategy used by Trump was his hoax/fake news strategy. He spread disinformation on climate change, discrediting the scientific community and encouraging conspiracies for personal and monetary gain. “It’s freezing in New York — where the hell is global warming?” 12/07/12. 11:24pm. Twitter. Donald J.Trump.
Joe Biden, the newly elected president of the United States of America, has opposing views, to say the least, on climate change. Perhaps the best snapshots projection of their contrasting views are in the transaction that took place in the presidential election….
Biden: “he thinks wind causes cancer”.
Trump: “I know more about wind than you do….windmills kill birds..”
Biden: “find me a scientist that says that”
Biden has been extremely transparent and open about his climate plan. He has taken into account both economic and social benefactors and aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. He has a 17 trillion dollar plan to invest in clean energy over the span of the next 10 years which will in turn introduce new jobs. He also plans to spend 2 trillion of it within his very first term. Biden agrees with other leaders and experts that the fastest growing industry is clean energy, and strongly supports the ‘green new deal’ which works towards a sustainable future for America. One of the ways in which he will use the funds is by investing in 50,000 charging stations on highways for electric cars. Additionally hiring up to 250,000 people for jobs related to plugging wells and mines.
Secondly, his climate plan has received immense praise for its empathy towards the marginalized communities in rural areas who are being affected the most by climate change and harmful chemicals produced by big industries. Trump previously came under fire for disregarding the health of families residing near power plants that poison the land in which they live. He and his administration were very ‘charitable’ and gave away money to these families to compensate for their health. On the other hand, Biden is strongly against “fracking on federal land”, by arguing it, “doesn’t matter how much you pay, it’s what you do to protect them”. 40% of all investment funds are directed towards marginalized communities. He is imposing measures to prevent damage rather than waiting for its effects to hurt Americans.
Other ways Biden plans to ameliorate America’s climate change programme is by showing the world they take this global threat very solemnly. By rejoining the Paris Climate Accord, they will be making a statement of unity and solidarity and imposing the forgotten international cooperation symbols. Biden has already started to gather scientists and experts to form a national climate crisis committee. Some other noteworthy parts of his plans are, by 2030, net zero-emission standard for new buildings, all new U.S. made buses will produce zero emissions and by 2035 building several electric sectors free of carbon pollution. Lastly, he aims to start a second railroad revolution by expanding high-speed rail across the nation.
Biden speaks big game, but will he remain true to his word?
The new president of the USA has been criticized previously to simply join the bandwagon and be too quick to alter his answer to please the democrats that support him. This strategy of being a popular vote may be beneficial to winning the election with a historical record of votes (78,662,167). However, this makes for a presidency that can not be trusted as they are easily swayed by the public. Meaning that their outlooks and plans could change after winning the election. It certainly doesn’t help knowing many of his close personnel from Obama’s presidency are shy supporters of the fossil fuel industry and gain money from them while publicly advocating, hypocritically, for green energy. However, continued pressure from climate activists, and the trend towards green energy and clean energy is what will keep his supporters, the youth of America continue to support him, at least all through the first term to the second term. All in all, the public can wait and let Biden prove his authenticity and see whether his talk about “moral responsibility” and “threat to humanity” is just talk or more. By no means Biden’s plans are the most comprehensive, just or even radical compared to other democrats, but, they indisputably trump Trump’s climate plan…or the lack thereof.
The general public, Americans and others, should continue pressurising the presidency, continue coercing the president to act on his promises as he is moved by people and follows the liberal trends and is considered to be somewhat a people pleaser, to put it nicely. Use this flaw to your advantage, global green citizens.
Works Cited
McGrath, Matt. “Joe Biden: How the President-Elect Plans to Tackle Climate Change.” BBC News, BBC, 10 Nov. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54858638.
WELCH, CRAIG, and SARAH GIBBENS. “Trump vs Biden on the Environment-Here’s Where They Stand.” Edited by CHRISTOPHER TURNER, Science, 21 Oct. 2020, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/10/trump-vs-biden-environment-heres-where-they-stand/.
Jacobo, Jacob. “Trump vs. Biden on the Issues: Climate Change and the Environment.” AbcNEWS, 29 Sept. 2020, 13:06, abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-biden-issues-climate-change-environment/story?id=73151337. 10 min read
