Editor’s Note: Harry Reid, a Democrat, is a former US Senator from Nevada. He was the Senate Majority Leader from 2007 to 2015. Reid is a member of the Climate Power 2020 advisory board. Views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN.
President-elect Joe Biden will restore key features of the presidency that have been absent for the past four years, chief among them a belief that humans cause climate change. Biden made his commitment to science abundantly clear in announcing the nominations of his economic, health and environment teams.
Experts have warned that inaction on climate change has put the world on a “suicidal” path leading to an “uninhabitable hell.” And President Donald Trump has done little to help matters.
During his presidency, Trump has shown us the damage that comes from his misguided ideas about global warming and his bent toward a pro-polluter agenda. The Trump administration has moved to reverse more than 100 environmental safeguards and weakened our global standing by withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization.
Now his administration wants to allow fossil fuel companies to drill in the Arctic national refuge, while refusing to tighten soot pollution standards in his 11th-hour attempt to deregulate and degrade environmental standards before he leaves office.
What’s worse is that Trump has made these decisions despite record high temperatures, intense hurricanes and scorching wildfires, which are impacting millions of people, even as a deadly pandemic has led to both a public health and economic crisis.
The incoming Biden administration presents a new era in the fight against climate change. His team isn’t just faced with the challenge of undoing the damage to our environment caused by the Trump administration over the past four years – but it must also meet the rapidly worsening climate crisis with bold, historic climate action.
Even before he enters the Oval Office, Biden has pledged that he will act on his climate mandate promptly. He has vowed to rejoin the Paris agreement and World Health Organization, prioritize climate action and restore the United States’ reputation as the world’s clean energy leader.
His roster of senior economic advisers – Janet Yellen, Neera Tanden, Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey – are climate champions who have proven their commitment to addressing climate change and will bring that perspective to their leadership roles as they advise the President on how to rebuild our economy in a sustainable fashion.
During the event where Biden announced these appointments, Yellen even opined that we need “to address the climate crisis with American ingenuity and American jobs.”
Biden knows that building a clean energy economy and ensuring American workers have good green jobs is key to the fight against climate change. Putting these climate advocates in charge of our economic policies will ensure that the American economy is actually built back better and ready for the future by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, while investing in green infrastructure and clean energy jobs that pay workers a good wage.
The historic appointment of former Secretary of State John Kerry as a special presidential envoy for climate is also critical because of his expertise and experience on the global stage. Biden has repeatedly emphasized that his administration’s climate ambition will touch all aspects of government, including national security, public health, foreign relations, economic policy and racial justice. Kerry will be able to implement Biden’s plans.
To meet these public health needs, Biden has picked Xavier Becerra to run the Department of Health and Human Services. As California Attorney General, Becerra created the first environmental justice bureau and successfully fought Trump’s environmental rollbacks. Biden also named Vivek Murthy, a vocal advocate on the consequences of climate change for public health, to serve as Surgeon General.
Finally, Biden’s announcement this week that he has nominated New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland to serve as Secretary of the Interior is historic, as she is the first Native American to hold the position and will spearhead efforts to protect land, air and water – especially on tribal land that has long been exploited by the department – from pollution. Biden has also named Michael Regan, who has significant experience with fighting pollution, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Regan is a smart pick to have at the forefront of prioritizing environmental justice and making Biden’s bold climate agenda a reality.
As Trump uses the final moments of his presidency to advocate an anti-environment agenda, Biden is setting the framework for his administration with a team of experts that will focus on the whole picture – including the role of climate change and environmental injustice – as they engage the most pressing public health issues of our time.
