Analysis: Biden’s lofty climate goals collide with political, economic reality

Sept. 15 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden campaigned for a pledge to restore US leadership in the global fight against climate change and followed with a staggering number of ordinances and lofty targets to reduce emissions.

But nine months after his presidency, political, legal and economic obstacles have forced his government to take several steps in support of fossil fuel development at home and abroad, and begs the question of whether the Democrat can meet his clean energy commitments.

Setbacks include a judge undoing government efforts to block new oil and gas leases on state, forcing them to offer millions of new acres for drilling, and rising retail gas prices prompting the White House to do so have to publicly ask the global oil cartel OPEC to stimulate production.

Most importantly, strong political opposition has forced the government to translate its key climate proposals, which would help meet April’s pledge to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, into a budget balancing bill, which is one in the narrowly divided US Congress has an uncertain future.

The Democrats, who want to pass the law by the end of September, are already talking about cutting investments and targets.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. If Washington fails to deliver results ahead of a November climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, other global powers, including the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, China, will be reluctant to commit to reducing their own emissions.

“If this (climate-related legislation) were to be passed before Glasgow, it would be a mess for Biden and his government,” said Bill Hare, executive director of the nonprofit Climate Analytics.

A Biden government official said the legal and economic realities required certain administrative steps and touted Biden’s progress so far.

“We can do two things at the same time: achieve our climate goals and at the same time ensure that the energy transition takes into account the interests of the middle class, who experience energy price changes very directly, and meet global energy needs when the economy recovers.” the pandemic, “said the official, asking not to be named in order to speak freely.

Biden’s mission is a unique challenge in the United States, where some voters and even some high-level leaders of the Republican opposition party are skeptical that human activity is causing climate change.

The congress “is the place where the main activity takes place. And this is where I would pinpoint the fate of the Biden government’s climate legacy, ”said Sam Ricketts, co-founder of Evergreen Action, a group that seeks to advance climate policy at the federal level.

DIFFICULT TO END

Biden has re-included the United States in the Paris International Agreement to Combat Climate Change, canceled Canada’s Keystone XL crude oil pipeline project, suspended new state oil and gas leases, and suspended drilling rights in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

His administration also aimed to decarbonise the electricity sector by 2035 – a key marker on the US’s path towards its Paris goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

In addition, the United States and Europe have agreed to large voluntary reductions in methane emissions this decade, Reuters reported earlier this week. Continue reading

At the same time, however, the government has supported lesser-known oil and gas infrastructure projects such as Enbridge’s Line 3 of Canada, and has expedited the processing of oil and gas drilling permits. Government data shows that the government has approved more than 2,600 drilling permits for onshore leases, a faster pace than during the Trump administration.

In August, the White House also called on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase production to help the global economy recover from the effects of the coronavirus crisis and keep retail pump prices in check for US motorists.

After a federal judge in Louisiana blocked Biden’s attempt to sign new leases in June, the Home Office plans to open millions of acres for oil and gas exploration, including approximately 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico to be auctioned later this year should.

“What began as a series of ambitious campaign pledges is quickly becoming a disappointing fossil fuel development milieu,” said Taylor McKinnon, a senior activist at the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group that opposes oil and gas development.

ALL EYES AT CONGRESS

Hare of Climate Analytics said a lot now depends on the laws going through Congress, regulations to reduce carbon emissions from the power and transportation sectors, tax credits for clean energy technologies, fees for methane releases from oil and gas, more Investments in the use of electric vehicles and a fund to direct climate investments in low-income communities.

Many of the proposals were initially contained in a smaller infrastructure package, but have since been either weakened or wedged into the $ 3.5 trillion draft budget, which only requires a simple majority in the 100-member Senate rather than 60 votes, as is customary under the rules of the chamber .

Even that requires the support of every single Democratic Senator, a huge demand, as both Joe Manchin, a moderate from coal-producing West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have said they will not be voting for bill of this magnitude.

Neither Manchin nor Sinema’s offices responded to requests for comments.

In the run-up to the Glasgow Summit, international observers are not optimistic about the outlook.

“It is not too difficult for China to be cynical about US climate action,” said Li Shuo, a senior climate officer with the environmental group Greenpeace East Asia, who is in regular contact with government officials in China.

Even America’s partners are concerned, according to Pete Betts, a former European Union and UK chief climate negotiator who now works at the Chatham House think tank.

“The international climate community has had to become experts in US domestic policy and legislative process over the years, and the challenges of implementation are well understood by US allies and competitors alike,” he said.

Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw Editing by Sonya Hepinstall

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