November 26, 2020

Progressives press Biden on climate justice

topic:	Climate action
located:	USA
editor:	Yair Oded

Last Thursday, a demonstration was held outside the Democratic National Convention headquarters in Washington, DC, during which racial justice, indigenous rights, and climate activists, along with several progressive lawmakers, addressed the intersection of the climate, health, economic, and racial crises facing us, and called on Biden to "be bold" in his actions as president. The demonstration was one among many efforts currently underway by organisers and politicians on the left to advance the progressive agenda forward under Biden. 

Despite putting forth a detailed climate plan, which many regard as the most progressive and comprehensive by any major political party in US history, Biden has thus far rejected the prospect of espousing a Green New Deal. This has been a cause for concern among progressives, who fear that the Biden plan will not go far enough in phasing out fossil fuels and establishing a just, greener economy in time to ward off the climate crisis’ worst effects. 

Protesters on Thursday urged president-elect Biden to take significant, immediate action on the climate crisis and adopt the main tenets of the Green New Deal. They highlighted the inextricable link between the rights of workers and members of minority groups and the state of the environment; a fight for climate justice, they maintain, must involve a genuine attempt to uplift marginalised communities who suffer the brunt of human-induced ecological degradation. 

“We can’t talk about climate unless we’re talking about the rights of young people to have a habitable planet, unless we’re talking about the rights of working-class people to have a job that guarantees them dignity,” stated representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) - a staunch advocate of climate and labour justice and a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal. “[I]t’s only bold federal action that can guarantee these things,” she added, “it is only that kind of transformational investment.”

“I’m going to ask Biden: Please, put an end to this fossil fuel addiction. Put an end to this ongoing genocide. Put an end to the ongoing injustices against our people,” said Ta’Sina Sapa Win of the Cheyenne River Grassroots Collective, emphasising the devastation wrought upon indigenous communities and lands by extractive industries. 

The speakers also made clear their demand that Biden establish a “corporate-free cabinet” that is beholden to the safety and well-being of voters and the planet as opposed to the interests of the ultra wealthy. “[A]t the end of the day, dollar bills don’t vote, although they try to. We vote. People vote. Young people vote. And it’s about time, long past time, that we recognize and understand that,” said Ocasio Cortez. 

Although Republicans will, in all likelihood, retain control of the Senate, there are still myriad possible avenues through which Biden could advance a transition to a just and greener economy without the support of the legislative branch. By executive order alone, Biden could (among other steps) phase out reliance on fossil fuels and restrict fracking on federal lands, as well as issue emergency protections for workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, increase the minimum wage, and bolster the status of labour unions. He could also restore the Federal Reserve's original mandate to ensure equitable economic growth and prosperity across all sectors and regions in the country.

But all of these actions depend on Biden’s political will, rather than ability. They will require a commitment by him to place the rights of everyday Americans and the future of the planet ahead of the pecuniary welfare of the nation’s wealthiest families and industry moguls. Thus far, his cabinet picks - rife with ties to the corporate world and fossil fuel industry - indicate that the chances of him doing so are rather slim. 

Still, protesters on Thursday remained steadfast in the determination to utilise the current momentum to impact the direction of the future Biden administration, and signaled that regardless of whom he installs in positions of power, they will not back down. 

“We have worked with the Biden administration to secure commitment on a $2 trillion climate plan. Two trillion dollars. But we’re not going to stop there,” declared Ocasio Cortez at the demonstration, with an air of invincible optimism. “What we’re going to do is that we’re going to organise and demand that this administration, which I believe is decent and kind and honorable, keep their promise.”

“And I don’t want anybody here to think that we’re not winning,” she added, “because, let me tell you something: We’re winning. It’s working. It’s happening. And we are going to secure a future. We’re going to secure the basic tenets of a Green New Deal.”

Image by Gage Skidmore