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President Biden is considering declaring a national climate emergency as early as this week as he tries to save his environmental agenda after stalled talks on Capitol Hill, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private discussions.
The potential move comes days after Sen. Joe Manchin III (DW.Va.) told Democratic leaders he does not support his party’s efforts to advance this month a sweeping economic package that includes billions of dollars to address global warming. If an emergency is triggered, it could give the Biden administration an opportunity in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions and promote cleaner energy.
Two of the people familiar with the discussions also said they expect the president to announce a number of additional actions aimed at curbing planet-warming emissions. The exact scope and timing of all announcements remains current.
“The president has made it clear that if the Senate doesn’t act to address the climate crisis and strengthen our domestic clean energy industry, he will,” said a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe the deliberations. said in a statement late Monday. “We are considering all options and have not made a decision.”
Jared Bernstein, the White House’s top economic adviser, stressed to reporters at a briefing earlier in the day that Biden would work “aggressively on the fight against climate change.”
“I think realistically there’s a lot he can do and there’s a lot he’s going to do,” Bernstein said.
Biden’s top aides are debating the best course of action as another severe heat wave descends on the central United States this week and as a similar weather pattern breaks temperature records across Europe. Many Democrats have called in recent days for the White House to use its powers to tackle global warming as hopes for action from Congress have faded.
“This is an important moment. “There is probably nothing more important for our nation and our world than for the United States to make a bold, vigorous transition in its energy economy from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) told reporters Monday.
Referring to the impasse, Merkley added, “It also frees the president from the shackles of waiting for Congress to act.”
It’s unclear exactly how Biden plans to proceed if he decides to declare a climate emergency, which Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.) has urged him to do just days after the president took office last year.
Biden’s plan to curb catastrophic warming is expiring
Some climate activists have called in recent months for the White House to enact a maximum-impact emergency declaration, arguing it would allow the president to freeze crude oil exports, limit oil and gas drilling in federal waters and direct agencies including the Fed of Emergency Situations Agency for the Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources.
But the president faces a difficult balancing act as he tries to calibrate his response to a warming planet with the recent economic reality of high gas prices. The policies could help Biden’s quest to halve U.S. emissions by the end of the decade from 2005 levels, though they still fall short of what Biden aimed to implement through his earlier economic plan known as Build Back Better.
Any new executive action on climate could also face a formidable legal challenge that could affect the future of environmental regulations. Last month, the Supreme Court reduced the federal government’s power to regulate carbon emissions from power plants.
The president himself raised the prospect of executive action on climate change last week as talks between Democratic leaders and Manchin broke down over what may have been the largest infusion of climate-related spending in US history .
Democrats originally hoped to invest more than $500 billion in new programs to cut emissions and support new technologies, including electric vehicles, before Manchin raised objections to the Build Back Better Act. The West Virginia native’s opposition has proved politically fatal, as party lawmakers require his vote to advance any bill using the process known as reconciliation, a tactic that allows Democrats to bypass the GOP in the closely divided chamber.
Democrats soon moved to rethink their plans, looking at what might have been $300 billion in climate-focused investments in an effort to appease Manchin. But the moderate senator, who represents a coal-rich state, said last week he could not support his party’s attempts to increase such spending this month amid record high inflation.
Manchin later expressed a willingness to address climate change, but said he would do so only after seeing a new round of indicators next month. But many Democrats have said they don’t want to take the risk, leaving them with no choice but to shelve their plans entirely — and instead focus on health care proposals that Manchin does support.
Others called for a new round of engagements with the senator, citing the fact that executive action alone may not be enough.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), leader of the tax-focused Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement Monday that lawmakers should at least explore renewing tax credits that promote cleaner technology.
“While I strongly support additional executive action by President Biden, we know that a flood of Republican lawsuits will follow,” Wyden said. “Legislation continues to be the best option here. The climate crisis is a matter of our time and we must keep our options open.”
Dino Grandoni contributed to this report.
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