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SINGAPORE: Over the past four years, I have watched with dismay as the Donald Trump administration progressively loosened oversight of polluting industries and eroded protections for wildlife.
The White House has reversed more than 125 environmental safeguards to allow for more pollution, drilling and logging.
Most significantly, Trump blocked Obama-era efforts to address Earth’s most overwhelming environmental threat: climate change.
Trump called climate change a “hoax” and claimed “science doesn’t know” and made the United States the first nation in the world to formally withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which continues to insist it was designed only to harm the economy. American.
Trump announced this move in June 2017, but UN regulations meant that his decision only went into effect on November 4, the day after the US election.
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HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
Fortunately, for the entire world, this catastrophic decision will be reversed.
Choosing Joe Biden gives me hope for the future. I’m not alone: A poll of nearly 900 international scientists before the election overwhelmingly wanted Biden to be elected the next president of the United States.
The scientific community identified climate change and the United States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic as the main issues that have influenced who they support in this election.
Doctors greet each other outside Maimonides Medical Center, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Brooklyn, New York, USA, November 17, 2020. REUTERS / Brendan McDermid
Clearly, Biden’s immediate national priority will be to personally take charge of a rapid, comprehensive, and evidence-based effort to contain the coronavirus and protect the health of the population.
BIDEN’S NEXT STEPS IN CLIMATE ACTION
The next priority for Biden will be climate action. He ran on the most ambitious climate platform ever put forward by a United States presidential candidate, embracing many of the elements of his party’s Green New Deal.
Biden’s plan ensures that the US achieves a 100% clean energy economy by 2035 and net zero emissions by 2050.
I hope you move with the urgency required. It is clear that the environment and the economy are intertwined.
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In 2020 alone, the US faced 16 weather disasters with losses exceeding $ 1 billion each. Additionally, there were 12 hurricanes that struck land in the US, beating the previous record of nine set in 1916.
2020 is the sixth consecutive year (2015-2020) that 10 or more $ 10 billion weather and climate disasters have impacted the US.
The 2015 Paris Agreement will be the most important thing for Biden, who has said he will rejoin the pact after taking office in January.
The central objective of the Agreement is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature increase this century well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial levels.
(Photo: Unsplash / veeterzy)
But important as it is to rejoin the Paris Agreement, a more significant demonstration of Biden’s determination will come in the form of the goal that the United States puts on the table, as its contribution to meeting the Agreement’s goals.
STRUCTURAL CHANGES ARE NEEDED
Although carbon dioxide emissions have been drastically reduced since closures were imposed around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we must build on this progress, not back down.
We need structural changes in the economy and industry, not just behavioral changes like refraining from flying, working from home, and driving less.
Structural changes include investments in renewable energy, low-carbon infrastructure, and plans to make buildings more energy efficient.
READ: Comment: Biden needs to build bridges, literally, in the US.
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Encouragingly, Biden campaigned on a $ 2 trillion plan to boost clean energy, modernize infrastructure and curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Once in office, a lot will be spent over four years upgrading 4 million buildings to make them more energy efficient.
Biden also wants to spend big on public transportation, invest in making electric vehicles and charging points, and give consumers financial incentives to switch to cleaner cars.
PARIS AGREEMENT AT A DISTANCE IMPACT
As a sign of commitment to these political goals, John Kerry, the former US Secretary of State and Democratic presidential candidate, has been appointed as a special envoy on the climate crisis under the incoming Biden-Harris administration.
For the first time, climate change will have a seat on the US National Security Council. This elevation shows that the administration views the climate crisis as an urgent national security issue.
President-elect climate envoy candidate Joe Biden, former Secretary of State John Kerry, speaks at The Queen Theater on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. (Photo: AP / Carolyn Kaster)
In fact, as secretary of state, Kerry played a prominent role in the international effort to craft the Paris Agreement.
After Biden’s election, the US, the EU, China, Japan and South Korea, two-thirds of the world economy accounting for more than 50 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, would commit to achieving zero net greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.
For the first time, this puts the 1.5 degree Celsius limit of the Paris Agreement at a surprising distance.
We could prevent small island states from sinking beneath the waves, prevent extreme weather disasters for millions of people, and limit the chances of an ice-free Arctic in the summer.
READ: Comment: We can no longer ignore the health risks of climate change in Asia
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SCIENCE TAKES PRECEDENCE AGAIN
More generally, perhaps Biden’s election means that science will once again be the guide to environmental policy around the world.
The climate emergency is related to a wide range of other problems, such as water scarcity, species extinction, air pollution and plastic waste that affect so many aspects of our lives and economy.
For example, we must recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic is the price the world is paying for ignoring warnings from scientists and activists about the need for humanity to restore its relationship with nature.
Experts have been warning us for decades that human activities were damaging the environment and altering wildlife habitats, making pandemics caused by animal diseases more likely.
People wearing protective masks are seen at a street market in Wuhan, the Chinese city hardest hit by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Hubei province, China, on May 14, 2020 (Photo: Reuters / Aly Song).
During the pandemic there have been some very important behavioral changes. For example, the public has a new appreciation for healthcare workers and other essential sectors, such as in the food supply chain.
Research is needed to analyze and understand whether the experience of the pandemic has changed attitudes, which can have a powerful influence on behavior.
TOWARDS A FAIR, HEALTHIER AND HAPPIER WAY OF LIFE
However, we must be realistic. 71 million people voted for Trump, and the Republican Party will likely retain control of the Senate, which could make it difficult for the Biden administration to implement sweeping reforms.
Although individual actions and mass campaigns will continue to have an essential role to play, sustained change depends on political leadership to formulate the right policies and carry them out.
READ: Comment: The troubling truth behind China’s carbon neutral pledge
We have seen how some countries, such as Singapore and New Zealand, have coped with the pandemic better than others.
These countries have done this by listening to science, communicating transparently with empathy and care, creating and maintaining a trusting relationship between the government and the people, and long-term planning.
That is exactly what it takes to transform us into a sustainable modern society and address the climate emergency.
The division created by the Trump administration has made it difficult. Hopefully Biden and his team can find ways to unite the country, reform old bipartisan alliances in America, regain the trust of their international allies, and deliver.
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When the United States emerges from the pandemic, the country has the opportunity to create a fairer, healthier and happier way of life for all of its people.
That should be the legacy of the hundreds of thousands who have lost their lives to the pandemic in the United States.
While we’ve all read the very promising news regarding vaccines for COVID-19, we must remember that there is no vaccine for climate change.
Hear from an expert discuss what a Biden presidency means for international climate action:
Benjamin P Horton is Director of the Singapore Earth Observatory.
