Biden to sign raft of climate change orders to end drilling and subsidize ‘clean’ energy
Pollemix News – January 28, 2021
President Joe Biden has wasted no time in implementing his new agenda, setting himself to sign a raft of executive orders on environmental policy on Wednesday. Combating climate change was a central thesis of Biden’s Presidential bid and he seems poised to fulfil his campaign promise by enacting a number of proposals including:
- A pause on new drilling on Federal lands or offshore waters
- Doubling wind energy production by 2030
- Appointing a Climate task force to develop measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Increasing Federal land conservation from 12% currently to 30% by 2030
- Reducing Federal Government reliance on fossil fuels and replacing the Federal fleet with Electric Vehicles
Biden has begun his tenure at breakneck speed, signing a flurry of executive orders in his first full week as President and today’s new climate initiatives follow Biden’s cancelling of the Keystone XL Pipeline and rejoining the Paris Climate Accord. The Biden administration has repeatedly pledged to take strong action on combating climate change and thus far the President has acted aggressively despite severe push back from some quarters, particularly with his decision to stop the Keystone Pipeline.
Even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose political ideology is more aligned with Joe Biden than his predecessor, said he was “disappointed” that the Biden administration had terminated the pipeline that was set to connect Alberta’s oil sands to US refineries in Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. The Keystone Pipeline has been a lighting rod for criticism since it was first proposed with environmental groups proclaiming that the environmental damage wrought would override any perceived benefits, whilst proponents have maintained that it would be a financial boon for both nations and provide numerous job opportunities in the economically depressed communities through which the pipeline will travel.
Along with nixing the Keystone Pipeline, the new measures put a pause on any new fracking or drilling licenses being granted but does not prevent any existing facilities from continuing. Although the administration is pushing an aggressive climate change agenda, Biden is seemingly cognizant that oil production is a key sector in swing states like Pennsylvania and he will be wary of antagonizing heartland voters.
Nevertheless, the Biden administration has made it abundantly clear that they are looking to implement the most aggressive and far-reaching Climate Change policy in US history and thus far there has been little resistance from Republicans. The question now is whether the new measures will have the intended effect on reducing climate change and what impact it will have on the floundering US economy.
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