As portions of the country are literally BURNING, Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden has no choice but to really bring the heat with his plan to address climate change. Climate change has been the source of many of 2020's woes — big storms that knocked out power, massive wildfires, dangerous tornadoes — some experts say it is even worsening the spread of coronavirus and future pandemics.
Biden's plan was called, "the most aggressive plan to fight climate change in U.S. Presidential history" by Axios.
Biden has taken on the wildfire crisis as a change to demonstrate a real life example of the horrors of climate change when it goes unregulated. On June 1, 2017, President Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement. This decision left greenhouse gas emissions at 3% higher in 2030 than would have been the case if the agreement remained intact.
Trump's commitment to challenging the reality of climate change continues three years later. On Sept. 14, 2020 Trump questioned the reality of science when it comes to climate change.
Point being, Biden doesn't have to do much to one-up President Trump on climate change policy. But he does have to do an awful lot to rescue us from this horrible crisis.
The only plan that I believe is comprehensive enough to even begin to tackle climate change is Alexandria Ocasio Cortes and Ed Markey's Green New Deal, which analysts say Biden has endorsed in all but name.
Slate News wrote that Biden "has signed on to the concept’s most important pieces, while doing away with some of its more controversial, and less essential, trappings."
I presume Biden shied away from the title, "Green New Deal," to avoid being clustered with the more radical left wing of the party that AOC represents. This could go either way. It could help fend off some Republican criticisms calling Biden a socialist, but it might also confuse young Democrats looking for a candidate that embraces the Green New Deal in entirety and by name. They might not take the time to compare and contrast both policies and learn they are indeed very similar.
The Green New Deal symbolizes the polar opposite of what Trump has provided in terms of climate policy (nothing). It calls for government intervention to mandate shifts away from carbon and to force companies to stop using fossil fuels. It also calls for environmental justice for communities hardest hit by climate change.
Biden calls for $2 trillion to be spent combatting climate change over four years. His plan involves a transition away from carbon entirely by 2035. Biden also noted ways to incorporate creating jobs into the climate restoration, while also fighting for environmental justice.
I think Biden's climate plan is impressive, but as a young person who has long supported the Green New Deal, I challenge him to go further an adopt the plan entirely. Biden's climate plan stops short of banning natural gas and oil fracking.
Fracking is so dangerous because the process releases methane, one of the major contributors to global warming.
Biden also extended the timeline of clean energy to 2035 instead of the Green New Deal's 10-year timeline. I understand that he views this as more realistic, but as evidenced by the wild and dangerous weather this year, Biden has no time to waste.
Nonetheless, climate activists were thrilled with Biden's most recent climate plan. He received praise from the Sunshine Movement and even an endorsement from the Scientific American, which has long remained apolitical.
The climate crisis is urgent, and it's especially urgent for Black and Brown communities that are systematically being hit the hardest by the crisis. All of the crises of 2020 are related. There's a pandemic that is systematically impacting communities of color which are already hurting from poverty, racism and climate change. We need a president that looks at these issues holistically.
I also think it is important to think about the ways in which companies profit off of hurting the environment. Since power companies have monopolies over the electricity supply to our homes and businesses, they should not be able to contribute to political candidates. The customers that pay these companies do not have a choice in where they get their electricity and thus they should not have a say in their politics. It is important for Biden to crack down on these monopolies which are actively working on anti-solar campaigns, as discussed by Chris Hayes on "Why is this Happening?."
During the primary, I think we all scoffed at Jay Inslee as he made climate change the single issue of his campaign. But more and more, this seems like a necessity. I am not suggesting Biden make it the single issue of his campaign but rather part of the one larger issue that is addressing America — when a crisis occurs it affects certain groups more than others because of systematic oppression. How can we stop the oppression and also help these groups?
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