Shortly after Associated Press and several networks called the presidential election for former Vice President Joe Biden, the current President Donald Trump, who refused to concede, released a statement claiming the election was "far from over." But Trump's disagreement did not stop world leaders to congratulate President-elect Biden and VP-elect Kamala Harris. Moreover, they began lining up to work with the incoming Biden-Harris administration, especially, on climate change.
During this presidential election along with healthcare, Coronavirus, economy, and systemic racism, climate change has also emerged as the key issue that Biden has included in his 100 days plan. Biden has been talking about his plans to take action against climate change, plans to bring the US back to the Paris Climate Agreement, and strive for net-zero emission goal by 2050.
World Is Looking Forward to It
In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, once called the best-friend of the 45th US President Trump, sent well wishes to president-elect Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris. As per his recent Tweet, the British Prime Minister is also looking forward to work closely with the Biden-Harris administration on "our shared priorities from climate change to trade and security."
Similarly, Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, who during the recent UN meet said the world is already witnessing "a version of environmental Armageddon," and the country is facing a threat of drowning due to the sea-level rise, tweeted his congratulatory message to Biden and said, "Together, we have a planet to save from a #ClimateEmergency."
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven also congratulated both Biden and Harris on Twitter while saying that he was ready to "lead a green transition creating jobs for the future." The President of Greece, which was recently hit by a powerful earthquake, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, offered her congratulations to the President and VP elect while saying that "Welcoming the US again to the #ParisAgreement on climate change is the first step!"
After multiple media called the presidential election for Biden, many tweets have rushed in from Austria, New Zealand, and many other green countries. It became pretty clear that Biden-Harris would have the support from day one of the presidency to restore the balance of the world to deal with the environmental crisis.
Most Ambitious Climate Agenda in US History
Biden has promised to get on track to eliminate greenhouse gas emission, restrict oil and gas extraction on public lands, reimpose strict fuel mileage standards, as well as re-joining the Paris agreement which Trump put on the chopping board after becoming the 45th president.
He also assured people that the Environmental Protection Agency will be led by environmentalists, not lobbyists like Andrew Wheeler—who lobbied against the environmental policies set by the Obama administration. There are also some talks about appointing a climate body to coordinate federal action.
But issues will emerge if the Senate gets the Republican majority as the Biden administration and Democrats in the Congress would face obstacles to implement the climate legislation. However, the good thing is the massive support from the millennials would work for the Biden-Harris administration in terms of climate action plans, as more than any generation, they stand with strong climate action.
The Americans have given Biden and Harris an opportunity to prove what they have been saying, and after the swearing-in ceremony on January 20, 2021, the green nations are eagerly awaiting their first step in this direction.
