Since entering office, President Joe Biden has supported renewable power and jump-started the transition of American agriculture towards less carbon-intensive practices as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Starting with his support for renewable energy, Biden has accelerated the approval of renewable energy products. This is part of his goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035 and a zero-emissions economy by 2050, through the work of the Department of Energy (DOE). Electricity generation from renewable energy sources—including wind, solar, and hydropower—surpassed coal-fired generation in the electric power sector for the first time in 2022. Since 2022, the DOE has approved electric vehicle (EV) charging plans for all 50 states, and built and upgraded high-capacity electric transmission lines, along with technology to decrease greenhouse gas pollution by 2035.
Biden has also transitioned American agriculture towards less carbon-intensive practices as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Funding from the IRA helps farmers transition to practices the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) deems climate-smart. The USDA is also developing more reliable and accurate standards for measuring, monitoring, reporting, and verifying greenhouse gas emissions reductions in agriculture. The Inflation Reduction Act has also incentivized individuals to purchase EVs and funds renewable energy sources.
In comparison to Biden, Donald Trump took anti-environment initiatives by pulling out of the Paris Agreement, encouraging fossil fuel extraction on federal lands, and dismantling nearly 100 policies focused on clean energy, air, water, wildlife, and toxic chemicals, all during his single presidential term. If re-elected in 2024, Trump has committed to driving forward fossil fuel production and repealing the Inflation Reduction Act.
On June 1, 2017, Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement covers climate change mitigation, adoption, and finance by 196 parties at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. In addition to this withdrawal, the Trump administration promoted fossil fuels and the rolling back of carbon pollution limits from power plants, cars, trucks, and fossil fuel operations.
Trump has also encouraged fossil fuel extraction on federal lands. Since 2017, Trump leased 9.9 million acres of land and water for oil and gas drilling according to the Wilderness Society. The fossil fuels extracted from those leases could equal half a year of emissions from China, the world’s top carbon polluter. Scientists have said this is detrimental to these areas and wildlife would never be the same.
So far during his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump has repeatedly stated support for increased fossil fuel production and repealing the Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA funded several clean energy initiatives and incentivized individuals to buy EVs. This repeal would lead to decreased jobs in solar, wind, and battery manufacturing, and increased funding for oil drilling. It will likely result in drilling in the Arctic and other areas that are currently off-limits. These actions would place the public’s health at the mercy of polluters, badly damage efforts to address the climate crisis, and further alienate the United States’ allies.