As of Jan. 20, the Biden administration now boasts the largest climate policy team ever assembled in the White House. They will focus on tackling global warming and curbing climate change. Many White House departments, such as the State Department, the Treasury Department, the Transportation Department, the National Security Council, and the office of Vice President Kamala Harris will all have their own climate policy staff, in addition to President Biden’s main environmental team. 

A defining goal of Trump’s administration was “energy dominance,” which meant expanding the production of coal and oil while weakening environmental regulations. The New York Times compiled a list of about 100 climate and environment regulations that the Trump administration rolled back during his presidency. As shown by many of President Biden’s actions, the White House’s recent endeavors have been focused on reversing many of former President Trump’s policies and undoing his rollbacks. 

Biden started off his presidency with an executive order to have the United States rejoin the 2015 Paris climate accord. The U.S. is second only to China on the list of the world’s leading carbon emitters, and Biden’s move shows that the White House is once again serious about addressing climate change. The U.S. will now be represented at the climate change accord in Glasgow later this year. 

Another win for environmentalists was President Biden’s decision to cancel the 1,200 mile long Keystone XL Pipeline, which was supposed to be a mode of transporting oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The pipeline was originally rejected by former President Obama in 2015 but was supported by Trump, although very little construction progress has been made since Trump green-lighted the project in 2017. The pipeline was seen as a contributor to climate change and did not align with America’s slow but steady transition to sustainable fuel sources. 

According to an article from The New York Times, one of the upcoming executive orders will help to re-establish scientific integrity, “after four years of an administration that mocked or belittled the established science of climate change, elevated discredited climate denial studies, and sidelined scientists who work on the issue.”

It is also expected that President Biden will start a calculation of the cost of carbon dioxide emissions in order to prove that there are economic benefits to climate change policies in addition to environmental benefits. 

Biden has not shown full support for the Green New Deal, a proposal supported by popular Democrats Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but many of his actions have been in line with what the proposal calls for. Before he was elected, Biden pledged to make the U.S. carbon-neutral by 2050 and to cut all greenhouse gas emissions from the electric secretary by 2035. As his presidency continues, much more progress is expected.

Graphic courtesy of FOX61.COM