About six months ago, I wrote an article discussing the potential climate and energy action that the newly instated President Joe Biden may implement and enforce. Today, I want to look at the progress that has been made as well as his administration’s continued support and expansion of the fossil fuel industry and why, so far, he is NOT the climate change hero we need.
Biden’s first day in office included a couple of key moves in environmental policy where he rejoined the Paris Climate Accord and canceled production on the Keystone XL pipeline. Unfortunately, that is where most of the action ends. In an effort to make the current fossil fuel system cheaper and more accessible to everyone, Biden has increased drilling on federal land and has called for greater oil production from Russia and The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to aid an increasingly expensive consumer market.
Another point of contention in Biden’s climate decisions comes with the Willow project, an oil drilling operation in Alaska which was set in motion by the Trump administration. Alaskan Senator, Dan Sullivan, has defended the project, citing job creation and large amounts of revenue.
Biden may be playing it safe by trying to hold public trust, which has been lowered by increasing gas prices, in order to keep the House and Senate under the democratic party to make passing progressive climate and energy policy easier. I still stand by my statement that canceling or slowing fossil fuel production without an immediate alternative to fall back on may look good for the long term but has negative impacts in the short term.
In a world where climate experts warn of impending climate disaster, there is not much time to debate or skimp out on energy sources and how best to implement them. At the moment, fossil fuels are a necessary evil until we make renewable energy sources more affordable, accessible, and ready to widely replace coal, natural gas, and oil which requires large steps in policy to happen. The climate crisis should not be as politicized as it is and requires cooperation on both ends of the political spectrum to combat.