What Americans Need to Know About Biden’s Environmental Record

Try to imagine how different the world would be if lefties had not decided that Al Gore was not “pure” enough for them to support. (Al fucking Gore!)

The dynamic is not unfamiliar, but it’s never been more critical. Those that care about climate change need to be constantly highlighting the stark difference in candidates this November.

Distilled:

Biden has leased far less public land to oil and gas companies than any President in modern history. In the first two years of his presidency, Trump leased 2.4 million acres for oil and gas production. By comparison, Biden’s administration leased 324,000 acres in its first two years. In other words, Trump leased 7 times more land to oil and gas companies than Biden. 

Trump cleared the way for companies to build pipelines like the Keystone XL project and drill in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. When Biden took office, he killed the Keystone XL project and blocked drilling permits in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. 

For anyone who sees climate change as an existential threat or cares about the environment, there’s a lot to fear in a Trump presidency. But there’s also a lot to hope for in a Biden re-election. 

In his first term, Joe Biden has done more to address climate change than any President before him. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) alone is expected to wipe out 21 billion tons of planet-warming pollution between now and 2050. For comparison, that’s 73 times more emissions than the infamous Willow Project will emit over the same period. It’s like canceling out the emissions from the entire country of India for a decade. 

The IRA is also spurring a clean energy revolution. Solar and wind are on track to produce more electricity than coal this year for the first time. Electric vehicles’ market share is up by roughly 400% since Biden took office. (For my EV-skeptical, public transit-loving friends, it’s worth noting that the IRA invested more money—$25 billion—in public transit than any bill in U.S. history).

All of this has been good for America’s economy too. 

Trump talked a lot about bringing manufacturing back to America and creating blue-collar jobs. But under Biden, manufacturing investment has grown faster than at any time in recent history thanks largely to the IRA. During Trump’s presidency, manufacturing spending grew by 5%. Under Biden, it has grown by 279%.

Axios:

A new analysis shows how a second Trump presidency could alter the course of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. 

Why it matters: By rolling back many of President Biden’s climate policies, a second Trump administration could lead to an estimated extra 4 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2030, compared with a second Biden term. 

• These extra emissions could in turn doom the 1.5°C goal under the Paris Agreement, the study finds, especially with the former president reportedly preparing to undo many Biden initiatives.

Zoom in: The analysis from Carbon Brief, shared first with Axios, is based upon modeling scenarios from two prominent U.S. research groups. It takes into account some, but not all, of Trump’s stated plans to roll back Biden’s climate policies, such as the Inflation Reduction Act.

• Carbon Brief concludes that under Trump, the U.S. would generate extra emissions through 2030 that would rival the combined annual CO2 output of both the European Union and Japan. 
• The research also notes a stark difference in U.S. emissions reductions through 2030 under the different candidates; the current target under Biden is a 50% to 52% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, relative to 2005 levels. 
• Under Biden, current policies would get the U.S. close to that goal, at about 43% below 2005 levels by 2030. 
• Under Trump, emissions cuts might amount to as little as 28% below 2005 levels by 2030, depending on the extent to which he is able to reverse Biden’s climate policies. 

Stunning stat: Carbon Brief’s report shows that the emissions path during a second Trump term “would negate — twice over — all of the savings from deploying wind, solar and other clean technologies over the last five years” globally.