In naming former Secretary of State John Kerry to become America’s global climate czar, President-elect Joe Biden is wasting no time making emissions reduction a top White House priority. Political observers are already gaming how much Biden will be able to accomplish on climate protection. Will Mitch McConnell lead a Republican Senate to tie up legislation? If the two Georgia Democratic candidates prevail in their runoff elections, can a Chuck Schumer-led Senate bridge divisions among Republican oil minions, progressive climate hawks and moderate “all of the above” straddlers?
Either way, the conventional wisdom runs, President Biden will have a hard time delivering on his pledge to decarbonize the U.S. power and road-transportation sectors on the way to achieving a 100% clean energy economy by mid-century.
