US ELECTIONS: Biden called climate champion, even as Dem platform criticized

The messaging was clear at the Democratic National Convention: the planet cannot survive another four years of regulatory rollbacks and pro-fossil fuel policies, and Americans can put their trust in former Vice President Joe Biden to right the ship and usher in the bold policies demanded by science and the scale of the climate crisis.

Biden Aug. 20 accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for president, and with it committed to take on the "perfect storm" of four historic crises: "the worst pandemic in over 100 years, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the most compelling call for racial justice since the '60s, and the undeniable realities and accelerating threats of climate change," Biden said of this moment in history.

"We can, and we will, deal with climate change," Biden told the American people in a nearly 25-minute speech. "It's not only a crisis, it's an enormous opportunity — an opportunity for America to lead the world in clean energy and create millions of new good-paying jobs in the process."

Biden has put forth a four-year, $2 trillion plan to invest in infrastructure and clean energy. The aggressive climate plan calls for 100% clean electricity generation by 2035 and a carbon-neutral economy nationwide by 2050.

Biden said in his speech that the investments would be paid for "by ending loopholes and the president's $1.3 trillion tax giveaway to the wealthiest 1% and the biggest, most profitable corporations, some of which pay no tax at all."

Numerous speakers during the Democratic convention spoke to the urgency in which federal leadership is needed to avoid some of the most catastrophic potential impacts of climate change.

Billionaire philanthropist and former presidential contender Tom Steyer called Biden's and running mate California Senator Kamala Harris' vision "a triumph for climate voters, who know that we simply can't afford four more years of [President Donald] Trump's recklessness, his negligence and his fossil fuel cronyism."

Unified voice

Biden, along with the Democratic platform, have moved further left on energy policies as compared with the Obama administration, though not as far as some progressive climate hawks would like to see. Yet, a unified voice resonated during the convention, with Senator Bernie Sanders, another former presidential contender, corralling his supporters to get behind the Biden-Harris ticket.

"To the millions who supported my campaign this year and in 2016, ... together we have moved this country in a bold new direction," Sanders said. "But, let us be clear, if Donald Trump is re-elected, all the progress we have made will be in jeopardy."

He backed Biden's 15-year plan to 100% clean electricity, despite having called for fully powering the electricity sector with renewable sources by 2030 while he was on the campaign trail.

While the messaging on climate at the convention was mostly unified, some activists lamented that they could not get more on the platform, and bristled over elements that quietly dropped out.

The Sierra Club wrote DNC Chairman Tom Perez Aug. 20 to demand that committee "immediately reinstate" language calling for the end of tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuel companies.

Still, the Sierra Club concluded the convention praising the nominations of Biden and Harris and applauding the strength of his climate plan. "After four years of relentless attacks on our democracy, our humanity, and the climate, we look forward to electing Biden and Harris and turning their bold policies and platforms into action," Sierra Club President Ramon Cruz said in a statement.

Shift in battlefront

Looking ahead, anti-fossil fuel advocates such as Collin Rees of Oil Change International suggested the battlefront could shift to personnel decisions on the Biden team and future administration spots. Biden's current climate advisors are too warm to natural gas for his comfort.

Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and founder of Bold Alliance, a key opponent of the Keystone XL pipeline, said the fight over the platform is over for now, and activists were at least able to advance the party platform from the 2016 positions.

Looking forward, she saw an effort to grow the voices across the party that recognize "you can't continue to say you are battling climate change and turn around and continue the buildout of fossil fuel infrastructure."

One of the biggest questions, in her view, revolves around whether an administration will bring on board members of frontline communities — indigenous people and people of color. That question of who will be at the table extends to siting decisions for clean energy projects as well, she said.