Senator Joe Manchin’s actions could have far-reaching ramifications if he succeeds in blocking of multi-trillion-dollar clean energy legislation.
This time, it’s embarrassing to report that prominent sponsors of the crucial UN climate summit have written to the UK government to express their worries about how it’s being organized.
However, another, even more, pressing concern is brewing across the Atlantic. One that is not only uncomfortable or inconvenient but also jeopardizes America’s credibility and thus the success of COP26.
A senator is obstructing the approval of a multi-trillion-dollar spending bill through Congress.
Joe Manchin is a Democrat from West Virginia, a state that has traditionally relied heavily on coal and the fossil fuel economy.
He looks to be standing hard in his opposition to the bill’s renewable energy provision.
After much political haggling, the White House has announced that the bill’s clean energy provisions are likely to be dropped.
Many have expressed outrage that America, reimagined post-Donald Trump as a climate change warrior with the moral authority to rally international support, should fail at such a critical juncture.
The clean energy provision of the spending bill is not the only piece of climate change legislation in the works in the United States, but it is by far the most crucial.
This section of the bill contains far-reaching proposals to electrify and decarbonize America by rewarding suppliers who switch to clean energy sources and penalize those who do not.
Senator Manchin says he rejects using taxpayer money to incentivize private businesses to accomplish what they are already doing without federal assistance.
However, if he succeeds in what appears to be a serious attempt to block this provision of the law, his actions will have far-reaching effects.
In the first instance, America may struggle to meet its own carbon-cutting commitments.
But, perhaps, more importantly, a domestic political failure like this will erode America’s moral authority at a critical juncture.
US Special Climate Envoy John Kerry is travelling the world in a last-ditch diplomatic effort, urging countries such as China, India, and Russia to be more aggressive with their carbon reduction commitments.
He is also putting huge pressure on the G20 nations, who are meeting in Rome on the day of COP26, to specifically agree to a coal phase-out.
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