Golf, Not Green Issues, Fires Up Debate
Red flags as first presidential clash fails to energise sustainability priorities.
The first Biden-Trump matchup of the 2024 election cycle has been widely received as a new low for American leadership, whoever you support. A discussion of the candidates’ golf handicaps brought out more passion than the most pressing concerns of our time. Biden’s contributions on sustainability issues, like electric vehicles and green jobs, were packed with stats but undermined by his inability to keep numbers straight or draw out a compelling narrative. Trump claimed the ‘best water’ and ‘best air’ while in office, so let’s check the record…
🤓 What has Biden achieved on sustainability issues?
Federal Sustainability Plan: Biden issued an executive order directing the federal government to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, with a 65% reduction by 2030. This plan includes electrifying 300,000 federal buildings, transitioning 600,000 federal vehicles to zero-emission models, and ensuring 100% carbon-free electricity for federal operations by 2030.
Electrifying the Federal Fleet: The U.S. Postal Service committed to deploying 66,000 electric delivery trucks over the next five years, with plans for all new vehicle purchases to be electric starting in 2026. This involves installing 14,000 electric vehicle charging ports nationwide.
Clean Energy Projects: The Department of Defense and Department of Energy have launched significant projects, such as the Edwards Air Force Base Solar Array and the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative, which repurposes former nuclear sites for clean energy generation.
Legislation and Funding: The Inflation Reduction Act includes significant investments in clean energy and efficiency, such as tax credits for heat pumps and residential solar systems, and funding for state energy efficiency programs. This act also supports carbon capture, sequestration, and clean hydrogen projects to reduce industrial emissions.
International Leadership: Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement and has been active in international climate discussions, helping to launch initiatives like the Global Methane Pledge and the First Movers Coalition. These efforts aim to reduce global emissions and support vulnerable countries affected by climate change.
🧐 What’s Trump’s record on sustainability?
Regulatory Rollbacks: The Trump administration implemented over 200 rollbacks of environmental regulations, targeting climate policies, air and water pollution rules, and protections for public lands. These rollbacks included weakening the Clean Power Plan, reducing fuel economy standards, and lifting restrictions on fossil fuel extraction in sensitive areas like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Want to see Biden’s progress rolling back the rollback? Check out this cool tracker from US ‘Climate Justice Solutions’ Newsroom Grist.
Climate Change Stance: Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, a global accord aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. His administration replaced the Clean Power Plan with the Affordable Clean Energy rule, which significantly reduced emissions targets for power plants.
Air and Water Quality: Despite claims of prioritizing clean air and water, the administration saw an increase in high air pollution days and a rise in greenhouse gas emissions after a long-term decline. Efforts to update drinking water standards for lead were minimal and largely driven by legal mandates.
Fossil Fuel Promotion: The administration heavily promoted fossil fuel production, rolling back regulations on mercury emissions, coal ash disposal, and methane leaks. These actions were part of a broader strategy to support the coal and oil industries, although coal use continued to decline due to market competition from natural gas.
Public Land and Wildlife Protections: The Trump administration reduced protections for national monuments, allowing increased oil and gas exploration. Changes to the Endangered Species Act and other conservation laws further reflected a focus on resource extraction over environmental preservation.
😨 What could a second Trump term mean?
‘Project 2025’, the ideological and strategic underpinning of Trump’s potential second term, has been shaped by the conservative Heritage Foundation thinktank. The plan aims to significantly reduce federal climate regulations, promote fossil fuel production, and dismantle various clean energy programs if Trump is re-elected.
The plan includes downsizing key environmental agencies like the EPA, eliminating climate research bodies and withdrawing from international climate agreements.
Let’s look into at some of Project 2025’s scary details:
Fossil Fuel Promotion: Project 2025 emphasizes maximizing fossil fuel production, reversing Biden's climate policies, and expanding oil and gas leasing on public lands. The plan aims to eliminate regulations that limit greenhouse gas emissions and promote fossil fuel use over renewable energy sources.
Regulatory Rollbacks: The plan includes downsizing or eliminating key environmental agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This would involve freezing current regulations, slashing budgets, and halting grants to community environmental programs.
Climate Science Suppression: Project 2025 proposes reducing the influence of federal climate science in policy-making. This would include stopping the use of the social cost of carbon in regulatory decisions and potentially eliminating federal climate research bodies.
International Climate Policy: The plan suggests withdrawing from international climate agreements, like the Paris Agreement, and ending climate-focused foreign aid programs. This would signal a significant retreat from global climate leadership and cooperation.
Clean Energy Program Cuts: The plan aims to dismantle various clean energy initiatives, such as the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the DOE Loan Program, potentially jeopardiing billions of dollars in clean energy investments and infrastructure projects initiated under the Biden administration.
How do you feel about Biden's record and the growing potential for a second Trump term?