The Making of the President 2024: Climate Issues
At one time climate change was a non-partisan issue, but in recent times it has become controversial and politically divisive in the United States. Since the 1970s, major oil companies have had information supporting the conclusion that burning oil and gas could cause global warming. Rather than investing in possible alternative fuel sources, many have chosen instead to fund those who deny any significant connection, despite the support of a clear scientific consensus. As recently as 2021 one-third of all Americans deny that human-caused climate change exists, however the majority are concerned or alarmed about the issue.
The environmental policy of the Donald Trump administration represented a shift from the goals of the preceding Barack Obama administration. President Obama had an environmental agenda which prioritized the reduction of carbon emissions through the use of renewable energy. The Trump administration policy called for the US to attain energy independence based on fossil fuel use and to rescind many environmental regulations. By the end of President Trump's term, his administration had rolled back 98 environmental rules and regulations, leaving an additional 14 rollbacks still in progress. The Biden administration asserted that most regulatory decisions under the Trump administration were influenced by politics rather than science.
The Trump administration supported energy development on federal land, including gas and oil drilling in national forests and near national monuments and parks. Soon after taking office, President Trump began to implement his "America First Energy Plan." He signed executive orders to approve two controversial oil pipelines (Keystone XL and Dakota Access.) In 2018, the Department of the Interior announced plans to allow drilling in nearly all U.S. waters, the largest expansion of offshore oil and gas leasing ever proposed. In 2019, the Administration completed plans for opening the entire coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
President Trump and many of his cabinet appointees did not accept the consensus of most scientists that climate change will have catastrophic impacts nor that carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to climate change. The president pulled the United States out of the Paris climate accord, leaving the U.S. the only nation that was not part of the agreement. He avoided environmental discussions at both the 44th G7 summit held in Canada and the 45th G7 summit held in France by departing early from these conferences. In September 2019, the Trump administration replaced the Clean Power Plan (from the Obama Administration) with the Affordable Clean Energy rule, which did not cap emissions. In April 2020, he issued his new vehicle emissions standards, which were projected to result in an additional billion tons of carbon dioxide, increasing annual U.S. emissions by about one-fifth.
In the 2024 election, President Trump is maintaining a climate change denial platform. He has repeated the mantra "drill, baby, drill" in campaign speeches, and has promised to increase oil drilling on public lands and offer tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal producers. He has stated his goal for the U.S. to have the lowest cost of electricity and energy of any country in the world. He has also promised to rollback electric vehicle initiatives, and has proposed leaving the Paris Climate Accords, and rescinding several environmental regulations.
President Biden's administration has taken a number of actions intended to reverse the policies of his predecessor. His climate change policy focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, similar to the efforts taken by the Obama administration. He has promised to end and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030 and has set a climate target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the United States to net zero by 2050.
On his first day in office, Biden began revising and strengthening the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and issued a number of executive orders aimed at reviewing or undoing the environmental policies of the former administration, including suspending the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, and drilling for oil and gas on federal lands. On the same day he rejoined the Paris Accord Agreement. His administration delivered a tax plan to congress aiming to wind back fossil fuel subsidies, replacing them with incentives for green energy. He ordered the amount of energy produced from offshore wind turbines to be doubled by 2030. In April 2021, Biden hosted a virtual climate summit with 40 world leaders and in November 2021, Biden and other world leaders met at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference to negotiate goals to reduce global warming. In November 2021 Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and in August 2022, Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which includes the largest federal climate change investment in American history.
Biden has stated that he believes in human-caused climate change. He has also overseen a record in US crude oil production with over 13.2 million barrels of crude per day beating the 13 million barrels per day produced at the peak of Trump's presidency. Biden has previously stated his intention to lower prices at the gas pump, which experts believe is key to his 2024 reelection campaign.
There appears to be a disconnect between the importance of this issue and its effect on voters' choice in the election. In a recent Pew Research Center Poll taken in February of this year, protecting the environment ranked 14th among issues voters considered to be important and climate change ranked even lower.
The environmental policy of the Donald Trump administration represented a shift from the goals of the preceding Barack Obama administration. President Obama had an environmental agenda which prioritized the reduction of carbon emissions through the use of renewable energy. The Trump administration policy called for the US to attain energy independence based on fossil fuel use and to rescind many environmental regulations. By the end of President Trump's term, his administration had rolled back 98 environmental rules and regulations, leaving an additional 14 rollbacks still in progress. The Biden administration asserted that most regulatory decisions under the Trump administration were influenced by politics rather than science.
The Trump administration supported energy development on federal land, including gas and oil drilling in national forests and near national monuments and parks. Soon after taking office, President Trump began to implement his "America First Energy Plan." He signed executive orders to approve two controversial oil pipelines (Keystone XL and Dakota Access.) In 2018, the Department of the Interior announced plans to allow drilling in nearly all U.S. waters, the largest expansion of offshore oil and gas leasing ever proposed. In 2019, the Administration completed plans for opening the entire coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
President Trump and many of his cabinet appointees did not accept the consensus of most scientists that climate change will have catastrophic impacts nor that carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to climate change. The president pulled the United States out of the Paris climate accord, leaving the U.S. the only nation that was not part of the agreement. He avoided environmental discussions at both the 44th G7 summit held in Canada and the 45th G7 summit held in France by departing early from these conferences. In September 2019, the Trump administration replaced the Clean Power Plan (from the Obama Administration) with the Affordable Clean Energy rule, which did not cap emissions. In April 2020, he issued his new vehicle emissions standards, which were projected to result in an additional billion tons of carbon dioxide, increasing annual U.S. emissions by about one-fifth.
In the 2024 election, President Trump is maintaining a climate change denial platform. He has repeated the mantra "drill, baby, drill" in campaign speeches, and has promised to increase oil drilling on public lands and offer tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal producers. He has stated his goal for the U.S. to have the lowest cost of electricity and energy of any country in the world. He has also promised to rollback electric vehicle initiatives, and has proposed leaving the Paris Climate Accords, and rescinding several environmental regulations.
President Biden's administration has taken a number of actions intended to reverse the policies of his predecessor. His climate change policy focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, similar to the efforts taken by the Obama administration. He has promised to end and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030 and has set a climate target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the United States to net zero by 2050.
On his first day in office, Biden began revising and strengthening the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and issued a number of executive orders aimed at reviewing or undoing the environmental policies of the former administration, including suspending the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, and drilling for oil and gas on federal lands. On the same day he rejoined the Paris Accord Agreement. His administration delivered a tax plan to congress aiming to wind back fossil fuel subsidies, replacing them with incentives for green energy. He ordered the amount of energy produced from offshore wind turbines to be doubled by 2030. In April 2021, Biden hosted a virtual climate summit with 40 world leaders and in November 2021, Biden and other world leaders met at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference to negotiate goals to reduce global warming. In November 2021 Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and in August 2022, Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which includes the largest federal climate change investment in American history.
Biden has stated that he believes in human-caused climate change. He has also overseen a record in US crude oil production with over 13.2 million barrels of crude per day beating the 13 million barrels per day produced at the peak of Trump's presidency. Biden has previously stated his intention to lower prices at the gas pump, which experts believe is key to his 2024 reelection campaign.
There appears to be a disconnect between the importance of this issue and its effect on voters' choice in the election. In a recent Pew Research Center Poll taken in February of this year, protecting the environment ranked 14th among issues voters considered to be important and climate change ranked even lower.