The President of the United States has declared that climate change is the “number one issue facing humanity”.

Joe Biden will be more “climate conscious” than Donald Trump. He has appointed John Kerry as the inaugural U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. John Kerry famously ran for the presidency himself, in 2004, losing to the incumbent George Bush.

 

Donald Trump formally withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord on the day following his defeat in November’s presidential election.  Biden, a leader with a greater globalist outlook than his predecessor, has re-joined the agreement.  The Paris Agreement is a legally binding treaty that aims to limit global warming to well below 2° Celsius of an increase compared to pre-industrial levels. Leaders whose countries are part of the agreement must aim to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases to help attain a climate neutral world.

 

President Biden has also proposed to make U.S. electricity production carbon free by 2035, and for the country to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. He plans on spending $2 trillion to upgrade four million buildings to make them more energy efficient.  All his plans lead to the creation of more jobs. Biden will inherit the leadership of a country in an economic crisis. The unemployment rate is 6.7%, having increased due to lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

However, Biden will not have the support to enact the Green New Deal. This is a plan to combat the climate crisis whilst creating more jobs and reducing wealth inequality.  He has kept Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders out of his cabinet, which has saddened many to the left of the Democratic Party.

 

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing the world.  Joe Biden faces an increasing battle in tackling growing environmental issues.