By: Eiman N.
Left photo from: The Conversation
Right photo from: The New York Times
Ever since Joe Biden was nominated as the Democratic candidate for the 2020 Presidential election, progressives and the younger generations have been putting his plans and stances for current issues under a microscope to investigate. With pressing issues such as racial injustice, public health, peace treaties, climate justice, and the current state of the environment now in his hands, Biden has a lot to deliver to the American people. Left-wing Democrats, progressives, and the youth are interested in how he plans to tackle these issues in comparison to the leftist candidates they were rooting for to be the next President of the United States -- especially considering that Biden’s campaign revolved around the idea of a united future between both parties. Biden has made his stance on the Green New Deal publicly clear—he does not support it. Instead, he has come up with his own plan to tackle climate change, informally known as ‘the Biden plan.’ What is the difference? Why didn’t Biden support the Green New Deal—a plan that was well known and supported by many Democrats? What does Biden believe is better about his plan, and why did he choose to form it?
The major differences between the two plans come down to scale.
He plans to build 1.5 million new sustainable housing units, which falls short of the Green New Deal’s agenda to provide affordable housing to everyone in the United States. Although Biden’s goal on this issue has a smaller scale, environmentalists agree that it is a good start and will still have a significant impact in starting to reverse the permanent effects of climate change.
The time frame is another major difference. While the Green New Deal strives to eliminate US contributions to climate change in ten years, the Biden plan’s goal is to eliminate carbon pollution from the power sector by 2035 and achieve net-zero emissions across other sectors by 2050. While the general framework of the Biden plan encompasses a total of four years as opposed to the Green New Deal’s ten, Biden’s plan takes longer to tackle the large-scale environmental issues, making the future unclear in terms of how his successor will either dismantle, continue, or upgrade his plans. According to experts, both of these goals are difficult. However, due to the limited amount of time left to reverse the effects of climate change, there will need to be unexpected cuts in emissions very soon.
Biden’s plan largely focuses on the economy and jobs, while the Green New Deal tackles social justice issues along with healthcare and housing, providing a broader area of issues to change in addition to the general concept of the environment. While the Green New Deal lacks specifics regarding economics and procedure, the Biden plan is more narrow and has a clear time frame and budget—$2 trillion over the course of four years.
Another issue prevalent in Biden’s climate plan is fracking, which could be considered the largest debate and issue regarding the program. Fracking is the revolutionization of oil and gas drilling on all forms of land, and it has been proven to have harmful effects on the environment such as poisoning underground water, polluting surface water, threatening wildlife, and impairing landscapes. While many left-wing Democrats and progressives have called for a ban on fracking, Biden has refused to make a public statement on the matter, continuously avoiding the questions about his stance on the issue. Strategists claim this is due to Biden’s origins—a man from Scranton, Pennsylvania, where the natural gas industry has done numbers for employment. While the issue of fracking isn’t directly expressed in the Green New Deal either, many of its sponsors, including, but not limited to, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and Senator Bernie Sanders have publicly called for its complete ban.
Despite these differences, there are many similarities between Biden’s plan and the Green New Deal, considering that Biden met with progressives and collaborated with Sanders on the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force to tackle pressing issues to address during his presidency, such as the current state of the environment. The task force included the Sunrise Movement—a climate and environmental justice group that played a crucial role in the formation of the Green New Deal. Biden’s campaign website also acknowledges the Green New Deal, citing it provided ‘a crucial framework’ for his plan. While both of these plans have their positives and negatives, experts agree that Biden’s climate plan is a good first step in changing the current state of the environment.
Discussion Questions:
Which plan -- Biden’s or the Green New Deal -- do you think more effectively combats the issue of climate change and changing the current state of the environment?
Can there be multiple ways and plans to fight climate change, or is there only one correct way?