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The projected victory of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States signals a step in the right direction for climate action, coming at a critical point after the country’s formal exit from the Paris climate agreement.
While President-elect Biden isn’t a panacea for the worsening climate crisis, climate experts say his faith in science already puts him miles ahead of Trump, who has repeatedly questioned and undermined the science behind climate change. .
“Biden not only recognizes the science that Trump does not recognize, but he has been personally involved in climate change issues for many, many years,” said environmental lawyer Antonio La Viña, who heads the Manila Observatory at the Ateneo de Manila, in an interview.
“That’s a big thing, because now you have a president who understands and prioritizes it,” added the country’s former climate negotiator for the UN climate talks.
Scientists and environmentalists from the United States and other countries have joined Biden, who has made it clear that tackling climate change will be high on his government agenda.
The 77-year-old Democrat ran on an ambitious climate platform, promising $ 2 trillion worth of investments in clean energy and infrastructure and incentives to decarbonize polluting sectors such as transportation and electricity.
Even before his projected victory, Biden has vowed to rejoin the Paris Agreement, which seeks to put a cap on the rise in global temperatures. Three years ago, Trump pulled the United States out of the landmark 2015 deal, which finally went into effect on November 4, the day after the US presidential election.
Today, the Trump administration officially abandoned the Paris climate agreement. And in exactly 77 days, a Biden administration will meet with her, ”the former US Vice President wrote on Twitter, referring to the inauguration day in January 2021.
Aksyon Klima coordinator Rodne Galicha said that the reincorporation of the United States to the Paris climate agreement will be a great moral boost for other countries to work seriously to limit their respective emissions.
“I think many countries or many parties will be encouraged and moved … as we felt in 2015 when the United States actually defended the Paris Agreement,” he said.
But rejoining the Paris Agreement is just a first step in advancing genuine climate solutions, said Beatrice Tulagan, Asia regional organizer at the international environmental group 350.org.
“Your leadership depends on how progressive and effective your actual national goals and policies are,” he said in an interview. “These will send a signal to the world about the urgency and importance of drastic climate action, which will hopefully influence other countries, especially the major historical and current polluters, to follow suit.”
Tulagan said decades of inaction by major carbon emitters like the United States have exacerbated climate impacts, such as the recent Supertyphoon “Rolly” (international name: Goni), which has devastated vulnerable nations like the Philippines.
“This is an injustice to us and many other countries, which are the least responsible and have benefited the least from the massive burning of fossil fuels in the last 150 years,” he said.
“It is time for the United States to promote climate justice for communities around the world, in Asia-Pacific and also in other areas, which are the most affected by climate collapse and divert financial flows from fossil fuels.”
More specifically for the Philippines, a Biden-led government could also translate into more partnerships and collaborations with their Philippine counterparts for climate change mitigation and adaptation programs, which has been absent in the four years under Trump.
Experts said that under Biden’s leadership, the United States can seriously re-commit to its commitments in the UN climate negotiations, such as on climate finance.
“If they are serious enough, we see, hope and hope that vulnerable countries like the Philippines have more access to climate finance without commitments and do not put our resources at risk,” said Galicha.
But regardless of who sits in the Oval Office, the growing global climate movement will continue, experts say, and young people will take the lead to pressure governments around the world to act urgently on the planetary emergency.
What is critical, Tulagan said, is that young people have genuine spaces to interact with government leaders and decision makers.
“Young people don’t have the illusion that choosing Biden will solve the problem. It is not like that, “said La Viña,” but it brings us closer to solving the problem, especially because we are not seen as enemies. ”
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