Biden: Promises Kept / Promises Broken: on Energy & Oil

Joe Biden: Convened "climate world summit"; cut US emissions in half

PROMISE KEPT: (NPR, 4/22/21): Emphasizing US commitments on climate change, Pres. Biden kicked off the first international summit during his presidency. He announced that the US would cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half, from 2005 levels, by the end of the decade. Biden was joined by 40 heads of government on Earth Day, focused entirely on lowering greenhouse gas emissions quickly in order to prevent the worst outcomes of a rapidly warming planet.

ANALYSIS: Much of the substantive work on cutting GHGs has yet to be done; only plans & proposals have been announced. However, the 2-day summit, which included Russia & China, fulfills Biden's pledge, within his first 100 days.

Joe Biden: FactCheck:US rejoined world in GHG reduction, not vice-versa

Biden didn't persuade other countries to "join the US": In 2015, 191 countries signed the Paris Accord committing to GHG reductions. Trump withdrew the US entirely in 2017, reducing US commitment to zero.

Looking at the numbers, the US had committed in 2015 to a 26% domestic reduction in greenhouse gases by 2025 compared to 2005 levels. Biden committed to a 50% reduction by 2030--a comparable reduction rate. For comparison, the EU committed to a 40% domestic GHG reduction by 2030 compared to 1990 levels--a much lower base level. In summary, Biden's action restored the US to what the world is already doing--the US joined the other nations, not vice-versa!

Joe Biden: Appoint Special Envoy for Climate; recognize climate crisis

PROMISE KEPT: (Executive Order on Climate Crisis , 1/27/21): It is the policy of my Administration that climate considerations shall be an essential element of U.S. foreign policy and national security. I have created a new Presidentially appointed position, the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, to elevate the issue of climate change and underscore the commitment my Administration will make toward addressing it.

OnTheIssues ANALYSIS: Biden's order acknowledges primacy of climate change as a matter of national security (which the Trump administration did not). Former Secretary of State John Kerry was appointed as the first "special envoy."

Joe Biden: No drilling on 16M acres in Alaska; but other drilling OK

PROMISE BROKEN: (Politico, 3/13/23): Biden's decision to allow ConocoPhillips to build its massive Willow oil project on federal land in the Alaska wilderness is causing an uproar among environmentalists who not long ago were praising the president over the billions in climate funding in his signature Inflation Reduction Act. But a separate White House announcement that it would take 16 million acres of Alaska land and Arctic waters off the table for new oil lease sales triggered blowback from the fossil fuel industry, whose relations with Biden appointees had been warming as recently as last week.