President Biden’s Climate Plan Is More Revolution Than Transition

President Biden’s Climate Plan Is More Revolution Than Transition

President Joe Biden in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the presidential campaign. Pennsylvania is ... [+] one of the swing states that could suffer from Biden's energy and climate policies. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) The Biden administration's progressive climate change agenda is running into obstacles on multiple fronts – in Congress, in the courts, and in energy markets. The President should take heed before rising energy prices undo his political hopes completely. Put simply, Biden's pledge to cut U. S. greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and have a carbon-free power system by 2035 look too aggressive given the razor-thin majority Democrats hold in Congress and the importance of America's oil and gas industry to the economy. A plan to halt new oil and gas lease sales in federal lands and waters was shot down by a district court after states that rely on energy revenues like Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Mississippi challenged the controversial measure. The administration was also unable to get the vast majority of its climate initiatives to reduce emissions into a bipartisan $973 billion infrastructure bill. It now hopes to advance these plans using the reconciliation procedure, which allows Congress to pass budget-related matters