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WILMINGTON: President-elect Joe Biden introduced his climate and energy team on Saturday (December 19), a historic group that will seek to advance an ambitious climate agenda that reverses many policies of the Trump administration.
Michael Regan would become the first black man to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) if confirmed by the Senate, and United States Representative Deb Haaland, as Secretary of the Interior, would be the first cabinet member of American natives.
“Today’s nominees are ready from day one, which is essential because we literally have no time to waste,” Biden said at a news conference in his home state of Delaware.
Biden, a Democrat who will take office on January 20, has vowed to make fighting climate change a top priority.
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But with a slim majority in the House of Representatives and control of the Senate still undecided, his agenda may have little success in Congress and instead rely on the rules of his regulatory agencies to enact sweeping changes.
Biden, who served as Vice President to President Barack Obama, appointed Obama’s EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to fill a new role as national climate adviser.
Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm will serve as Biden’s energy secretary if confirmed.
Environmental groups have widely praised the team for its expertise and diversity. But the powerful fossil fuel industry, which Biden has frequently criticized, has argued that it must balance climate efforts with preservation of jobs.
Biden wants the United States to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, which would require the world’s second-largest emitter to transform its economy, including transportation, power generation and agriculture.
Biden differs markedly from President Donald Trump, who withdrew Washington from the Paris climate accord and relaxed or dismantled climate regulations that the administration deemed detrimental to the economy.
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Trump once again falsely claimed on Twitter Saturday that the Nov. 3 election had been stolen from him through election fraud.
The Republican president on Friday night discussed with Sidney Powell, a lawyer who was previously part of his election challenge team, his possible appointment as a special government attorney to investigate allegations of voter fraud, according to a source familiar with the meeting. Powell has promoted unproven conspiracy theories about rigged voting machines.
It was unclear whether Trump intended to go ahead with the plan. Both White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and White House attorney Pat Cipollone strongly opposed the idea, the source said.
