Global S&T Development Trend Analysis Platform of Resources and Environment
President Biden’s First 100 Days | |
Max Gruenig | |
2021-04-29 | |
出版年 | 2021 |
国家 | 欧洲 |
领域 | 气候变化 |
英文摘要 | Key messages:
100 days of climate pragmatismThe Biden-Harris Administration has managed to cover a significant number of campaign pledges on climate and environmental policy within the first 100 days, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Administration is working hard both to contain the virus through vaccination and to rebound the economy, at home and globally. Given these serious competing issue areas, it is not surprising that the US approach to environmental policy is first and foremost pragmatic. The objective is to get as many high-impact measures as possible rolling, subject to the constraints of policymaking and politics in Washington DC. With the current composition of Congress, notably the lack of a solid 60-count majority or even a reliable 50-count vote in the Senate, climate and environmental policy is limited to executive action. If 50 votes can be secured in the Senate, budget reconciliation presents another viable option for acts with budget relevance. In addition to these constraints, a new complication has resurfaced this year in the shape of earmarking, i.e., funding for specific purposes included at the request of a Legislator. It remains to be seen how significant the climate and environmental burden of earmarking will turn out to be in practice. However, it is likely that the process will direct funding from where it could achieve most to where it is politically opportune. The White House has so far pushed out a significant number of executive actions on climate change:
While the steps taken by the Administration are important and noteworthy, the next round of re-regulation will take longer and require more work in the process. A third tier of complex reforms might be too time-consuming and resource-intense to get finalized within this presidential term. Implementing measures to set the US on course to reach its NDC goal, relying almost exclusively on executive action and select budgetary measures, will require significant political capital and willpower. The Administration will be tempted to push the boundaries of what can be considered budgetary, leaving it to the Senate parliamentarian to decide on a case-by-case basis. The mid-term elections in 2022 will shift focus from Washington DC to state and regional matters. Emphasis on immediate gains, in terms of job creation and economic rebound, will make it harder to secure support in Congress for additional measures, except for low-hanging fruit and subsidies. The Biden-Harris Administration will be judged primarily based on their actions in 2023. To keep the window open for executive and possibly even legislative action in 2023 climate policy proposals will need to have a short payback period and deliver results immediately. Thus, 2021 is the best moment in this presidential term for bold US climate action. As fate would have it, this coincides with a significant global moment in climate policy. The first review cycle, or ratcheting up, of NDCs under the Paris Agreement is to be finalized at COP26 in Glasgow. Herein lies a promising opportunity for the Biden-Harris Administration, but also a threat. Anything not at least initiated this year may have to be postponed until the next term, especially if new crises emerge. The US presidential system, currently a boon for climate action, can become a bane, leaving climate policy to be done, or undone, at a whim. To avoid constant whiplash between climate-progressive and climate-regressive forces, actual legislation is the only long-term way forward. Only broad support in the legislature can instil trust in the reliability of the US course for businesses, investors and international allies alike. It will be paramount for civil society to keep the pressure up during 2021 and to support the new administration in their quest to get the most out of this year in terms of ambitious, lasting climate policy. |
URL | 查看原文 |
来源平台 | E3G |
文献类型 | 科技报告 |
条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.173/C666/handle/2XK7JSWQ/325054 |
专题 | 气候变化 |
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Max Gruenig. President Biden’s First 100 Days,2021. |
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