In the wake of his Build back Better plan’s collapse, President Joe Biden could call for a national emergency in climate change this week.
Last week was over. At the end of the week, moderate Senator Joe Manchin (D.WV) refused support for his party’s economic package. He cited its climate and energy programs, as well as the fact that it raised taxes on wealthy Americans. According to the New York Times, Manchin effectively destroyed Biden’s ambitious climate agenda. It was meant to be the largest federal investment made in American history to address climate change.
The Times noted that “without Congress’s action, it will not be possible to meet Mr. Biden’s goal of cutting U.S. emission roughly in half by this decade.” This target was set to keep the planet at 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, which is about half the preindustrial level.
Sources close to the White House said that the president wanted to declare a climate emergency and announce additional measures to curb planet-warming emissions.
Jared Bernstein, the White House’s top economic advisor, told reporters Monday that the president would “aggressively combat climate change.”
Other Democratic senators called for the president to take stronger action on climate change. However, the most recent polls indicate that Americans are more concerned about inflation and their economic woes.
