US elections: Biden vs Trump on climate change debate
On November 3, 2020 there will be the 59th US presidential election. Donald Trump, President in office and representative of the Republican Party on the one hand. Joe Biden, Democrat and former vice president of the United States (from 2009 to 2017) on the other. These US elections will certainly be historically linked to an important factor: the world pandemic. In fact, it is playing a key role in the popularity of the two presidential candidates. According to a recent poll by WSJ and NBC, the incumbent’s handling of the situation is reducing the chances of the Republican party’s confirmation. Biden would in fact be 11 points ahead.
If the Americans went to vote today, the new president of the United States would most likely be Joe Biden. This is supported, among others, by The Economist, whose poll on August 3 predicted that the Democratic candidate could get 54% of the popular vote (against Trump’s 46%), and that he would therefore have a 91% chance of becoming the next tenant of the White House.
For FiveThirtyEight, Trump is even lower in national polls: at 42%.
And the New York Times poll also gives Biden a six-point lead in six key states.
The American site Quartz, however, suggests readers not to make hasty predictions: even in 2016 the polls gave Hillary Clinton an advantage. Yet in the end Donald won.
One of the biggest battles between Biden and Trump is over the concept of sustainability and the fight against climate change.
In early June, the former vice president was the first to present his “climate plan”. A $ 1.7 trillion investment, broken down into 5 points:
– Make the US economy carbon neutral by 2050.
– Complete a $ 400 billion investment over 10 years to support climate and energy research and development, creating zero-impact infrastructure.
– Reintroduce the United States to the Paris Treaty on Climate Change.
– Supporting vulnerable native communities, whose territories are exploited by fossil and coal companies, to reduce environmental impact and risks.
– Support companies that have fostered US economic growth.
For his part, the current President has not yet formalized his proposal on the climate and the environment. However, as announced on the site in support of his election campaign, a confirmation of what was already presented in 2016 is expected:
– Confirm the withdrawal of the United States from the Treaty of Paris.
– Induce the Environmental Protection Agency (ENPA) to cancel the “Clean Energy Plan” (CPP) created in 2015 by the Obama administration.
– Reconsider the limits on methane emissions imposed by the Obama administration, which currently involve spending of $ 530 million per year.
– Sign an Executive Order to expand oil and gas drilling, favoring the stipulation of new contracts (eg in the Gulf of Mexico).
– Approve the expansion of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring 42,000 new jobs;
– Introduce a new regulation to open the National Refuge for the Arctic Fauna for the production of domestic energy.
Pending confirmation on the republican climate level, the clash on the issue is once again intense and decisive.
By Domenico Greco
