What the Biden Administration Means for Climate Change and Environmental Policy
Photo by Rom Matibag
After a grueling series of Democratic primaries and a difficult to watch presidential election, we will once again have a champion for the environment in the White House on January 20, 2021. Despite President-elect Biden’s commitment to progressive leadership on climate change and his willingness to build a diverse coalition of advocates and administration officials to see his policies through, there are many open questions about how much he can do and how quickly it can be done.
What’s the immediate impact?
It’s not overstating things to say that the impact of a Biden-Harris administration on environmental policy will be huge. They’ve committed to putting climate champions in place across departments and federal agencies, and their team is already drafting executive orders that Biden can sign on day one.
Among the main goals early on in Biden’s tenure will be reversing the Trump administration’s many rollbacks of environmental laws. As we’ve noted before, while this process can begin on day one, it could take years to undo the damage of Trump’s rollbacks.
In addition, Biden is committed to rejoining the Paris Agreement and repairing relationships between the U.S., other countries, and intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations. The process of rebuilding trust in the U.S. government will be particularly important for fighting climate change. To reduce emissions and transition to clean energy, there needs to be a long-term global compact and an understanding that every nation will stand by its commitments.
What might a Biden administration accomplish?
While climate change is an existential threat, it certainly won’t be the top priority early on for the administration. Getting COVID-19 under control, coordinating a nationwide vaccine distribution program, and rebuilding the economy will dominate Biden’s first year in office. That said, there are opportunities to incorporate climate change and environmental justice into any future coronavirus relief efforts.
Beyond tackling these pressing issues, the administration will likely face the challenge of a divided government. Depending on the outcomes of two Senate runoff elections in Georgia, Democrats will control the White House and the House of Representatives, while Republicans will control the Senate. A divided Congress will make passing any new legislation very difficult. Congress’s inability to pass additional pandemic relief has driven home just how hard it is to get bipartisan cooperation on almost any issue in 2020. Despite Biden’s history as a senator and his relationships with members of both parties, we don’t expect to see much progress on environmental and climate change legislation.
This leaves executive orders as Biden’s only viable option for accomplishing the administration’s climate change priorities. As polarization has increased and bipartisan cooperation has dwindled, executive orders have become a popular tool for presidents to advance their agendas without congressional support. While executive orders can be effective, there are a couple of important drawbacks to consider. First, they are not laws and do not have the same authority as legislation passed by Congress and signed by the President. Conversely, much like laws, executive orders are subject to legal challenges. With a conservative-majority Supreme Court in place for the foreseeable future, executive orders might be enacted, only to have them delayed during legal challenges, and ultimately struck down. There is a strong chance that any executive orders that seek to expand the authority of the executive branch and create new regulations will be viewed skeptically by the Supreme Court.
In addition to executive orders, Biden can exert influence over environmental policy in a few subtle ways. These include pushing agencies—such as the EPA—to interpret existing laws in ways that will help support climate change initiatives and set stricter standards for greenhouse gas emissions and other types of pollution. Biden will also appoint administration officials who will work to advance progressive policies and implement them across departments and agencies. One catch here is that the appointment of many high-level officials in the executive branch requires Senate approval, which may be unlikely if Republicans retain control. If Mitch McConnell blocks Biden’s appointments, look for the administration to seat officials on an acting basis using executive powers outlined in the Vacancies Act.
As mentioned above, Biden will also look to reassert the U.S. on the global stage. In addition to rejoining the Paris Agreement, Biden could create a new department to manage climate change domestically and internationally, he could partner with other high-emitting countries—e.g. China, India, and the EU—to adopt stricter standards alongside the U.S., and he could appoint State Department officials and ambassadors who would work behind the scenes to repair relationships across the globe.
What does the future hold?
So much of what Biden can accomplish will depend on the administration’s ability both to foster cooperation at all levels and to withstand legal challenges to executive and regulatory authority. These are dynamic issues that can and will change depending on the outcome of the Georgia runoff elections, congressional elections in 2022, and the makeup of the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court.
In addition, action at the local and state levels will have a bottom-up influence on national environmental policy going forward. The Biden-Harris administration is more likely to find success by adopting policies that have worked—and held up to legal scrutiny—at lower levels of government. Novel solutions implemented by city governments and state legislatures can serve as elements in a policy playbook for what might work at the federal level. As always, it’s important to keep a broad view of the available policy options and an open mind about what is possible, feasible, and achievable.