A critical piece of President Joe Biden's climate agenda, which would replace coal and gas-fired power plants with wind, solar and nuclear energy, will likely be dropped from the budget bill pending in Congress because a West Virginia Senator opposes it, The New York Times reported on Friday.
White House staffers are revising the Clean Electricity Performance Program legislation due to strong opposition from Senator Joe Manchin, the centrist Democrat from coal-rich West Virginia whose vote is crucial to its passage, the newspaper said.
Machin wants to reshape the Clean Electricity Performance Program - a $150billion program that would reward those who use clean energy and fine those who don't - to make it so that burning fossil fuels would not be eliminated.
A major part of President Joe Biden's climate change plan could be pulled because of West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (right). The plan would replace coal and gas-fired power plants with wind, solar and nuclear energy, but it will likely be dropped from the budget bill pending in Congress because Manchin - who has a personal connection to the coal industry - opposes complete elimination of its usage
'Senator Manchin has clearly expressed his concerns about using taxpayer dollars to pay private companies to do things they're already doing,' Manchin spokesperson Sam Runyon told Reuters in a statement.
'He continues to support efforts to combat climate change while protecting American energy independence and ensuring our energy reliability,' Runyon said.
Manchin has personal ties to the coal industry and earned half-a-million dollars from its production last year, according to The New York Times.
Machin's state is the second-largest in coal production and the seventh in natural gas in the country. He received more donations from oil, coal and gas industries than any other senator in his last campaign and personally profits between $1 to $5million from his Enersystems Inc stock - a coal brokerage company he founded in 1988.
He made $491,949 from his share last year in the company that his son has run since 2000, The New York Times reported.
Both Manchin and Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a centrist from Arizona, have objected to the initial $3.5trillion price tag for Biden's spending plan to fund social programs and fight climate change.
Manchin represents the second-largest coal-producing state in the country. He opposed Obama's climate previous because it would be 'bad for West Virginia.' He received more donations from oil, coal and gas industries than any other senator in his last campaign and personally profits between $1 to $5million from his Enersystems Inc stock - a company he founded in 1988. He made $491,949 from his share in the company that his son has run since 2000
He also opposed Obama's climate plan because it was 'bad for West Virginia.'
As a result, President Biden faces a difficult balancing act in trying to bring down the cost but not alienate Progressive Democrats, who also are essential to passing the legislation.
Biden's policy plan is for the US to produce 80 per cent of its electricity through zero-carbon sources by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035, analysts say.
'This policy is an essential foundation for rapidly reducing emissions in the most polluting sectors of the economy,' Richard Newell, President of Resources for the Future, told The New York Times.
Machin's version is expected to be less ambitious compared to Biden's, which could hurt the President as he travels Glasgow in the coming weeks for the United Nations climate change summit.
The rest of the world is wary of the US' commitment to climate change following former President Donald Trumps disregard for it, according to The New York Times.
Minnesota Senator Tina Smith, a Democrat and author of the program, warned that Machin's revisions could cost her and other Democrats' votes.
'We must have strong climate action in the Build Back Better budget,' she told The New York Times. 'I'm open to all approaches, but as I've said, I will not support a budget deal that does not get us where we need to go on climate action.'
The US is the largest emitter of climate change pollution, historically. With Biden's promise to cut the US' emission by 50 per cent of 2005 levels, Machin's revision could harm his promise.
With electricity sector producing a quarter of greenhouse gases in the country, Democrats hoped to add in a clean electricity program in the budget bill - with many Progressive Democrats are saying is non-negotiable.
Despite coal producing decking in the US, Machin wants to reshape the Clean Electricity Performance Program - a $150billion program that would reward those who use clean energy and fine those who don't - to make it so that burning fossil fuels would not be eliminated
There's been a decline in coal producing in the last few years, but it's still a highly coveted industry. Manchin's revision could lose the progressive vote if it loses the ambition of Biden's original intention. The revisions also pose threat to Biden, who will be traveling to Glasgow in the coming weeks for the UN climate change summit. Manchin's revisions could harm the view of the US and climate change - one the world is already wary of following Trump's disregard for climate change
'This is our moment. We cannot — we don't have any more time to wait,' Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said at an event in San Francisco on Friday.
In the evenly split Senate, every Democratic vote will be needed for passage.
Following a meeting this month on Capitol Hill with his fellow Democrats, Biden suggested the bill could be trimmed to around $2trillion over 10 years.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report in August detailing the immediate need to shift away from fossil fuels to avoid catastrophe.
Scientists have warned nations need to keep the average global temperature from increasing 1.5 degrees Celsius (35 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels, despite the average temperature already increasing 1.1 degrees Celsius, according to The New York Times.
The White House had no comment on The New York Times report on Friday evening.
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