Shortly after Biden made the announcement, U.S. climate envoy Kerry added that Biden was considering declaring a climate emergency. The move would give Biden additional power to advance his renewable energy agenda, which has been hampered by a lack of U.S. congressional support. When Biden announced the funding decision in a speech in Massachusetts, Europe and North America were experiencing extreme heatwaves. In late July 2022, tens of millions of people in more than 20 U.S. states were living under heat warnings. In a speech announcing the funding decision, Biden said climate change "is an existential threat to America and the world." The speech was delivered outside a former coal-fired power plant inider extreme weather conditions an "emergency," he did not formally declare a federal emergency. Sen. Manchin, a conservative Democrat in West Virginia, said last week he would not support legislation aimed at tackling climate change. The president has been under increasing pressure from Democrats and environmental groups after this dealt a major blow to Biden's climate change agenda. Manchin, on the other hand, expressed concern about inflation. Biden said Wednesday that he plans to announce additional executive orders in the coming weeks because the U.S.
Congress "doesn't do what it expected to act." "Our children and grandchildren are counting on us," he said. "If we don't keep Special Database (climate change) below 1.5 degrees Celsius, we will lose everything. We will not be able to reverse this." California wildfires, 22 July 2022 Photo Credit: Reuters / BBC News Wildfires are frequent in the United States in hot weather. Analysis: "The road to turning promises into action is not easy" (BBC climate correspondent Esme Stollard) President Biden took office promising to restore America's international credibility on climate action and to roll back former President Donald Trump's "regressive moves" on environmental policy. On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order requiring the United States to rejoin the Paris climate agreement. Last April (2021), he pledged to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent by 2030.
But the road to turning those promises into action is anything but smooth for Biden. The latest round of executive orders shows the trouble he faces in crafting climate policy through the normal route. Ahead of the Glasgow climate conference, Biden pledged that by 2024, the United States would provide $11.4 billion a year in climate financing to help developing countries tackle climate change. But in March, he managed to secure $1 billion from Congress, just one-third more than Trump-era U.S. government spending. The executive order issued in July did show that Biden's efforts were solid. But he may also be wary of going too far with this type of presidential power. Just in June, the Environmental Protection Agency lost some of its powers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Previously, 19 coal-producing states in the United States, concerned about job losses, jointly launched the lawsuit. It is clear that the United States has drawn battle lines when it comes to climate action. Time will tell how far Biden will go in fulfilling his climate ambitions during his presidency.