Biden’s Pseudo-Declaration of Emergency Frustrates Climate Activists

“Practically speaking,” one says, his administration is “backing disastrous carbon bombs.”

President Joe Biden speaks at the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center and Preserve, with a sign that says "Historic Climate Action" behind him

Susan Walsh/AP

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Joe Biden has said that he has “practically” declared a national emergency on the climate crisis, despite not actually taking that step, vexing climate campaigners.

“I’ve already done that,” Biden said when asked if he intends to declare a climate emergency in a Weather Channel interview aired on Wednesday.

He went on to say that under his leadership, the US has protected more land, rejoined the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, and “passed the $368 billon climate control facility”—a reference to the $368 billion in climate and clean energy spending included in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act spending bill.

Asked to clarify if he has declared a national climate emergency, Biden said: “Practically speaking, yes.”

Yet the White House has not yet announced such a declaration, despite years of pressure from climate-focused advocates and lawmakers. Doing so would unlock a host of new powers for the president, including the ability to speed the energy transition and block fossil fuel projects without congressional approval.

Biden’s statement outraged climate activists, who noted that it came amid a summer of record-breaking extreme weather events. “This summer, we experienced the hottest days in the past 125,000 years, wildfire smoke has filled the lungs of people across the country, people are losing their homes and literally jumping into the ocean to avoid flames,” Varshini Prakash, executive director of the youth-led climate advocacy group Sunrise Movement, said in a statement.

Biden has referred to the climate crisis as an emergency. But in addition to failing to make an official declaration under the National Emergencies Act, he has overseen the expansion of planet-heating fossil fuels, noted Kassie Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute.

“Practically speaking, Biden has devastated communities and wildlife by backing disastrous carbon bombs from Alaska to Appalachia,” she said.

But it’s not too late for Biden to take that step, said Prakash: “It’s a no-brainer to declare a climate emergency—and if President Biden said we already have, then why not do it now?”

More Mother Jones reporting on Climate Desk

PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate