April 30th marked President Joe Biden’s first one hundred days in American office. In a crisis, this time period in the United States is even more important, as the President is under the watchful eye of the public, and Biden’s ideologies and style is completely different to his predecessor.
April 30th marked President Joe Biden’s first one hundred days in American office. In a crisis, this time period in the United States is even more important, as the President is under the watchful eye of the public, and Biden’s ideologies and style is completely different to his predecessor. The United States has one of the highest emissions per capita worldwide,[1] so these past few months have been key in shaping vital climate policy under Biden’s administration. Former President Trump had called climate change a “hoax” [2], and pulled the US, a key carbon emitter, out of the Paris Treaty. All eyes have been on Biden as he attempted to regain American credibility as a leader for climate action. However, it is important to be cautious of centring the US as the global leader of climate action --although the decisions of this administration affects the world -- as this distracts from other leadership and also has remnants of American imperialism. So, what has President Biden done for the climate in his first one hundred days of office?
Immediately after being sworn into office, the new President rejoined the 2015 Paris Agreement as promised. And, on Earth Day, he hosted a Leaders Summit on Climate. Not only was this a hopeful sign for ambitious climate action and targets, but it also marked the opening of the US to international cooperation after four years of isolationism. During this Summit, the American President pledged to cut carbon emissions by 50% below 2005 levels by 2030. [3] In order to reach these targets, the Biden and Harris administration have established a working group looking to develop low carbon technologies and announced a $2 trillion infrastructure plan, including a focus on clean energy, retrofitting, and improving facilities and providing jobs for communities of colour.
Whether Biden’s targets are met or his plans are actually pushed through Congress [4], I believe that these past one hundred days have been positive for climate action. It signals increased multilateralism and global cooperation, with less power posturing between the US and China, which I believe foreshadows ambitious collaboration in the lead-up to, and at, COP26 later this year. It also shows that leadership globally is starting to treat climate change as a problem intersectional with issues like race and class, with intersectional solutions.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/datablog/2009/sep/02/carbon-emissions-per-person-capita#:~:text=A%20more%20useful%20measurement%20is,clocks%20in%20at%204.6%20tonnes.
[2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-51213003
[3] https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/action-on-climate-change-president-bidens-first-100-days/
[4] The House of Representatives and the Senate, both of which have legislative powers.