How a ‘Climate Emergency’ Could Harness Wartime Powers for the Energy Transition

This week on The Energy Gang: Should Biden declare an emergency?

Climate change is certainly the most urgent issue we face. But should it be formally declared an emergency? 

There’s a real conversation over the label in the U.S. — and it could have a very real impact on what the president can do.

This has been a growing priority for environmental groups. Grist reported that in December, more than 380 of them sent a letter to Joe Biden’s transition team, urging him to issue an executive order mobilizing the National Emergencies Act. 

And now, Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the House and Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Senate, among others, just introduced The National Climate Emergency Act of 2021.

What could be the counter-impact? Changes across the energy economy are set to accelerate. If we don’t do it correctly, are we facing a “Yellow Vest” protest movement like those in France?

And finally, a new study shows that some cities are grossly under-reporting their carbon emissions. Do cities even have the resources to measure them properly?   

Resources:

  • Grist: AOC, Sanders, and Blumenauer Press Biden To Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’
  • Vice: AOC and Bernie Are Teaming Up to Get Biden to Declare Climate Change a National Emergency
  • Vox: “We Risk a Yellow Vest Movement”: Why the U.S. Clean Energy Transition Must Be Equitable
  • New York Times: U.S. Cities Are Vastly Undercounting Emissions, Researchers Find

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