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The most critical issue on which a Biden-Harris Administration can quickly and decisively turn the tide of the Trump Administration’s energy policy is in the area of decarbonization and climate change. Attention to climate and clean energy was promised throughout the campaign, and within days of the unofficial declaration of Biden’s victory, transition priorities are being cast. President-elect Biden has announced that the United States will re-enter the Paris Agreement on the first day of his presidency. It will also appoint a national commission during the transition to accelerate action on climate change, raising it to the level of attention given to the pandemic and other challenges that require immediate attention. The incoming administration should also consider an immediate summit with key countries to include China, India and other emerging economies whose emissions trajectories will have a huge impact on global climate efforts and where opportunities for international collaboration are greatest.
To some, the immediacy of action on climate change may seem strange, given that it is a decidedly long-term problem, but the president has a lot of momentum to change on this issue and the sooner the priorities and the people are in motion, long-term efforts are more likely to be successful. One critical action the president-elect can take on climate is to establish a political leadership position within the White House to harmonize actions among key departments and agencies rather than each operating on its own and risking promoting agency agendas rather than national ones. priorities.
While the balance of power in the Senate won’t be known until the January runoff in Georgia, it seems unlikely that the most important climate-focused legislation will be in the offing regardless of which party prevails, given the narrow margin of control. There are some legislative actions that could come up in the compromise window, including more research and incentives for carbon sequestration, advanced nuclear power, energy storage and hydrogen fuels, and everything related to pandemic stimulus or spending on infrastructure. A more comprehensive national approach, such as a cross-sectoral carbon price, is probably an overstated goal for now, given the resistance from the furthest wings on both sides, but it should remain up for discussion.
It is important to recognize the role that federalism it plays on energy and environmental policy in the US, as much of the authority over energy production occurs at the state level and its transmission across state lines is the province of the national government. In fact, much of the progress on climate and clean energy in the past four years has materialized as states have established carbon policies within their borders. This is where the often underestimated power of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) comes in, as it regulates the most competitive wholesale power markets, interstate electric power transmission, and oil and gas pipelines. The FERC is an independent agency with five commissioner appointments from both political parties, but the Executive Branch party is assigned three of the appointments and therefore the president can exercise majority control and appoint the president of the Commission. President-elect Biden can use this authority to shift the balance at FERC, which will open the door to better accommodation of state policies in national energy markets. Better coordination with states will also provide ongoing evidence of whether a state’s bottom-up approach to climate and energy should be phased out through a more top-down national approach that can create a more efficient system and fewer interstate conflicts.
