{"id":22950,"date":"2020-11-27T21:31:05","date_gmt":"2020-11-27T21:31:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=22950"},"modified":"2020-11-28T04:42:05","modified_gmt":"2020-11-28T04:42:05","slug":"bidens-ambitious-energy-plan-faces-headwinds-but-can-move-the-us-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/bidens-ambitious-energy-plan-faces-headwinds-but-can-move-the-us-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden’s ambitious energy plan faces headwinds, but can move the US forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scott L. Montgomery<\/a>, University of Washington<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

President-elect Joe Biden calls climate change an existential threat<\/a> to America\u2019s environment, health, national security and economy, and has promised a clean energy revolution to counter it. Biden has pledged that on his first day in office he will bring the U.S. back into the Paris Climate Agreement<\/a>. He also is expected to restore numerous environmental protections<\/a> that the Trump administration has weakened or revoked, and to cancel oil and gas leasing<\/a> in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.<\/p>\n

Beyond damage repair, Biden has big plans for American energy<\/a>. In my view, not all of them are realistic. Yet their actual purpose may be as starting points for negotiation. Based on my experience analyzing the U.S. energy industry, I see three factors that will influence what his administration can achieve.<\/p>\n

First, the election did not produce a \u201cgreen wave\u201d of support, so Biden does not have a clear mandate for sweeping change in this sector. Second, Biden is no progressive firebrand, and it is unclear how hard he will fight<\/a> for all his energy policy goals. Third, depending on the outcome of the Georgia Senate runoffs in January<\/a>, Democrats may not control the Senate. But it is important to note that a Republican Senate would not necessarily spell doom for progress on energy.<\/p>\n