Biden’s new environmental strategy is progressive, but can it keep its promises?
During his final days in office, former President Donald Trump issued several changes to climate policy, many of which were aimed at loosening restrictions on industrial pollution. President Joe Biden, after assuming office, has undone many of Trump’s last-minute environmental orders and issued a new plan to combat climate change.
His proposal is aggressive, aiming to achieve completely carbon-free electricity by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The president has said that, “In my view, we’ve already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis. We can’t wait any longer.” This urgency can also be seen in the many executive orders he has signed, one of which has put a complete halt on new leases to oil and gas companies.
Some scientists have confirmed the possibility of achieving the new plan’s end goals, net-zero emissions by 2050 and carbon-free energy by 2035, but others are skeptical. Another promise of Biden’s new plan is to make all government vehicles electric by 2030. Robinson Meyer of The Atlantic explains that, “If Biden were to replace, say, the entire federal fleet over five years, the government would buy about 129,000 new cars every year — a huge total, equivalent to about a quarter of Tesla’s worldwide production last year.”
Biden’s plans would be a tremendous step towards preserving the environment if its objectives are achieved. While it is possible for his plans to succeed, it will undeniably face challenges.
