Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Biden Says He Would Spend $2 Trillion to Fight Climate Change

Ken Schwartz

   DemocraticpresidentialcandidateJoe Biden is proposing to spend $2
   trillion to fight climate change andcut carbon emissions from electric
   power to zero by the middle of the next decade.

   ThepresumptiveDemocratic nominee says his climate planreleased Tuesday
   would also be a job creation planwith afocusonupdatingthe country's
   infrastructure through energy-efficientbuildings and electric cars.

   "There's no more consequential challenge that we must meet in the next
   decade than the onrushing climate crisis. Left unchecked, it is
   literally an existential threat to the health of our planet and our
   very survival,"Biden said.

   Biden's plan includes incentives for the U.S. car industry to build
   electric-powered vehicles that are cleaner to run than cars that rely
   solely on gasoline.

   API voices concerns

   The American Petroleum Institute says the Biden climate plan could
   force the U.S. to look overseas for oil and energy sources, pointing
   out that many of those countries have lower environmental standards
   than the U.S.

   "You can't address the risks of climate change without America's
   natural gas and oil industry," API chief executive Mike Sommers said.

   Biden's plan would also steer much of the job creation and clean-energy
   infrastructure spending toward underprivileged communities.

   "When Donald Trump thinks about climate change, the only word he can
   muster is hoax. When I think about climate change, the word I think of
   is jobs," Biden said.

   Many liberal and progressive Democrats have expressed disappointment
   with what they believe has been Biden's lack of urgency in talking
   about climate change.

   Pandering to liberals?

   Two Trump supporters -- Republican congressmen Steve Scalise and Mike
   Kelly -- say Biden is pandering to liberals and that the middle class
   will bear the brunt of the Biden plan through higher energy bills.

   There has been no response to the Biden plan so far from the White
   House.

   The Bidencampaignsaid Tuesday his plan to fight climate change is part
   of what it calls his overallpackage to revive the U.S. economy,which
   has been stalled by the coronavirus.

   Campaignofficialssay Biden has already promised to boost taxes
   oncorporationsand turn back Trump's tax cuts for wealthy Americans.

.