by Anne Walton
A president’s extraordinary commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
Over the past four years, the Biden administration has passed some of the most significant climate, environmental and social justice legislation this country has ever seen. Even in a time characterized by extreme and aggressive political positioning, the Biden administration has navigated a path forward based on honoring bipartisan dialogue and agreements, framing solutions for issues like climate change and the environment in the context of jobs and the economy. The net result is that under the leadership of President Joe Biden, more than 300 environmental, climate and public health initiatives have passed - and we can expect to see more in a second term!
Most significantly, the Biden administration has been able to build unprecedented support for funding of energy, clean water, clean air, and other key programs because it understands that incentives for building a green economy and jobs are easier to sell than punishments for pollution. The $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal included over $300 billion for public green investments. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) included another $400 billion for renewable energy subsidies. An analysis from the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst commissioned by the BlueGreen Alliance found the more than 100 climate, energy, and environmental investments in the Inflation Reduction Act will create more than 9 million jobs over the next decade—an average of nearly 1 million jobs each year.
A moment in time that turned back the clock.
Throughout the history of the United States, Congress has taken aggressive bi-partisan action to address the most compelling needs of the time, and in doing so, improving the quality of life for both Americans and the environment. In the 1960s and 70s, historic actions were achieved across party lines in a time when the divide was not such a deep chasm as it is currently. We are still benefiting today from forward-thinking legislation such as the: Clean Air Act (signed by President Johnson in 1963), and the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act , and Endangered Species Act, signed by President Nixon respectively in 1970, 1972, and 1973.
Unfortunately, many of these most significant pieces of environmental legislation in the United States were eroded, dismantled, or altered by former president Trump. This was the president who during a campaign speech in Florida on Sept. 8, 2020 touted himself as: “Number one since Teddy Roosevelt. Who would have thought, Trump is the great environmentalist? I am, I am. I believe strongly in it.” In the backdrop, social justice issues were raging in the streets across America. Stalled climate action and clean energy remained on the back burner while fires consumed the west, floods ravaged the southeast, and drought consumed our agricultural lands here in Iowa. This was also the year the Global Center on Adaptation in their State and Trends in Adaptation Report for 2020 reported: In the U.S., climate-related disaster damage has risen from US $178 billion between 1980 and 1989 to US $810 billion between 2010 and 2019 – a 450 percent increase.
While in office, Trump removed the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, repeatedly proclaiming climate change as a “hoax,” denounced the science and removed climate from the list of national security risks. According to the Brookings Institution Center on Regulation and Markets which was tracking Trump’s deregulatory agenda, at least 74 actions were taken to weaken environmental protections. The range and order of magnitude of these actions touches on every significant piece of environmental legislation in this country, including those mentioned above that go back to the 1960s and 70s and are the iconic backbone of U.S. environmental legislation.
Reversing the narrative on the environment.
While the Biden administration was building support for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and the Inflation Reduction Act, it was also working hard to repair the Trump administration’s damage to our existing environmental legislation and expand protection into new areas. America rejoined the Paris Climate Accord, reversed Trump’s Coal Mining Oversight Rule, restored and updated the National Environmental Policy Act, set the first-ever National Goal of a Zero-Emissions Freight Sector, invested nearly $1 Billion to support Transition to Zero-Emission Heavy-duty Vehicles, set a new national goal to Protect, Restore, and Reconnect 8 Million Acres of Wetlands and 100,000 miles of Rivers and Streams. These accomplishments alone would be unimaginable, yet they barely speak to the more than 300 additional actions already taken on behalf of Americans and our environment by the Biden administration.
Bringing it home.
The new legislation has penetrated deep into all corners of even mid-America, including rural and underserved communities such as my own in southeast Iowa. As reported by USDA:
“Thanks to Inflation Reduction Act funding, more farmers and more acres are enrolled in voluntary conservation practices than at any single point in history, and even with this unprecedented funding, USDA is seeing more demand than we have funds to support. More farmers, rural businesses, utilities, and electric cooperatives will also be able to reduce their energy costs leaving more dollars in the hands of rural communities.”
Rural development clean-energy demand from Iowa for IRA funding (through Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), Powering Affordable Clean Energy Program (PACE) and new Empowering Rural America Program (ERA) totaled $1,409,356,389. This has taken place in a part of the country that is usually by-passed by federal funding except for disaster relief and farm subsidies.
Today, we have a historic opportunity to use our voice through our vote.
If on November 5th Trump is re-elected, the damage he inflicted during his past administration will only be amplified during the next. We do not have the luxury to wait to address a multitude of pressing issues. Another four years of a Trump administration will set us on an irreversible and untenable trajectory into a worsening climate crisis, further environmental degradation of our planet, and deteriorating conditions for the survival of many millions.
We have the power to turn our back on the digressive acts of the Trump administration and ensure we have a working democracy that respects the Constitution. We can once again have hope for our future, and that of our children and grandchildren. The passage of the transformative Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and Inflation Reduction Act put us clearly on the path of achieving the U.S. goals of cutting emissions in half by 2030 relative to 2005 levels, attaining 50 percent of new vehicle sales be electric by 2030, generating 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035, and achieving a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. This reality can all be part of our future, if we elect the right officials.
The Biden Administration has the best environmental record of any presidency in American history.
Please take the time to learn about the candidates and the issues. Be informed, vote wisely, vote early, and in doing so, sow the seeds now for a more productive future for all of us.
Anne Walton is a contributing member of the Grassroots Network Climate Emergency Mobilization Team. If you have a suggestion for a future blog topic or are interested in joining the team, please reach out to us at climateemergency[at]sfbaysc[dot]org.