Climate change is one of the biggest threats that we all are facing, and it is something we genuinely need to care about. Therefore, to deal with this global crisis, several measures have been taken by leading nations of the world. One such effort was the formation of the Paris Climate Agreement, which is signed by 189 countries. All these nations have committed to work together to reshape the adverse effects of climate change by managing emissions and other such issues. The agreement has been framed in a way to strengthen the counties’ ability to face the challenges faced due to climate change.
Well, the U.S. has had quite an intriguing history about its participation in the climate agreement. Earlier, ex-president Donald Trump had called global warming a “hoax” and severely challenged the climate crisis on a global level, and that’s just the beginning. After that, Trump had started showing signs of walking out of the treaty, which left the climate activists highly concerned about his future plans. Such behavior demonstrated by the President himself had led to a massive outrage among Americans, particularly the anti-Trump community. However, on June 1, 2017, Trump announced the USA’s withdrawal from the agreement, which created worldwide havoc. The U.S. could still rejoin the agreement later in the future, provided the President agrees.
Spoiler alert: that is precisely what happened recently. The USA is back in the climate game, all hail to the new Presidentship of Biden. Right after arriving at the Oval Office, President Joe Biden executed his first move by fulfilling a commitment to prioritize climate change. He signed the comprehensive official orders that cover an array of policies and strategies that commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
One of Biden’s most immediate steps was rejoining the Paris climate agreement. By returning to the climate agreement, Biden suggests the U.S. drastically lessens the emissions for limiting expected global temperature growth to below 2 degrees Celsius. With Biden’s signature on the agreement, the U.S. will be joining after the 30-day long procedural waiting.
Biden stated that the U.S. shall strive to combat climate change in an extraordinary way, through a way that has not been done yet. His actions in Paris convey a clear, powerful message that the U.S. is all set to participate and thoroughly cooperate in the battle against climate change to reform the role of a leader it held earlier.
Apart from that, Biden realizes that the journey towards cleaner future proceeds from all of us. Recently, in one of his speeches at the United States Conference of Mayors, he acknowledged and praised the efforts made by several cities and states, which have managed to take some responsibilities on their own since the federal government had not been present for the last three years.
The agenda set by Biden has been reported to be the most ambitious, determined, and hopeful one that any presidential candidate of the U.S.’s history has ever prepared. However, challenges continue to loom ahead as Biden will be governing with an essentially conservative and traditionalistic Republican Senate. It will reduce his opportunities in Congress, providing him with a tight rope to walk on, to meet the progressive demands of his party and the restrictions forced on him by his political competitors.
Several analysts and experts state that Biden’s election signifies the best opportunity in years to decarbonize the USA’s economy and will excellently contribute to an urgently required advancement in international effort to control climate change. Helen Mountford is the Vice President of the World Resources Institutes’ climate and economics, and he addressed the journalists about the upcoming plans in a press call arranged on November 10. In this press call, he stated, “The U.S. is officially back in the game.”
Talking about Biden’s place to combat climate change, he has also undertaken the challenge of re-establishing the USA’s contribution towards the Green Climate Fund. 27 countries promised funds of approximately $10 billion in November 2019. Here, the USA is expected to pay around $2 billion, which is exceptional compared to the previous pledge made in the year 2014.
Besides, one of Biden’s many priorities is predicted to be an incentive package proposed to discuss the growing economic crisis prompted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Such an incentive could also signify an opportunity for the USA to transition to renewable energy and other green infrastructures.
The stakes are sky-high for Biden to pull off such an ambitious plan to slow down climate change. Considering that the worldwide carbon emissions had reached an all-time high in 2019, scientists warning that we are running out of time to keep warming under 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit), Biden seems to have quite a massive challenge ahead. Due to this, several advocates do not believe in Biden’s approach going far enough.
Despite all these challenges, Biden continues to strive for a better future with his popularly known “Biden Plan”. To sum up the entire plan, here are some of the major agendas in consideration:
-Ensuring that the USA reaches a 100% clean energy economy and strikes net-zero emissions at least before 2050.
-Building a stronger, healthier, and more resilient country.
-Rallying the other parts of the world to fight the perils of climate change.
-Standing up to the exploitation of power done by polluters, which harms the communities of color, low-income, etc.
-Fulfilling the obligations to workers and communities who powered the USA’s industrial revolution and the succeeding decades of economic growth and development.
With all these pointers, we can say that the Biden plan aims at making a historic investment in producing a cleaner and greener future. The climate and the environmental regulation plan proposed by Biden will create an enormous investment of $1.7 trillion in the coming ten years with the leverage of the additionally procured private sector, state, and local investment to a sum of more than $5 trillion. Therefore, Joe Biden truly believes that they should rather invest in a Clean Energy Revolution that generates employment right here in the U.S.
CONCLUSION
It is understood that climate change is a major global challenge, and it demands decisive and firm actions from all countries around the world. Joe Biden understands how to cooperate with America’s associates and other countries and has the ability to work with any of the prominent world leaders regarding what needs to be done. He aims at working in a way that the entire world fights against the struggles of climate change and comes out victorious. As per Biden’s plans, he is not just recommitting the United States to the Paris Climate Agreement, as his intentions go much beyond that. He wishes to bring about a genuine change, and for achieving this, he is determined to go as far as he can, for he truly believes in the world’s power to control and combat the devastating effects of climate change. After knowing all the aims he has set forth and the plans to achieve them, it is safe to say that the U.S. is back in the climate game and is ready to fight stronger than ever. Whether it succeeds or not, only time will tell.