WASHINGTON — President Biden has tapped John Podesta, a veteran Washington insider spearheading the Obama administration’s climate strategy, for a $370 billion federal investment in clean energy under a groundbreaking new climate law. appointed to supervise the
As Biden’s senior adviser on clean energy innovation, Podesta will provide billions of dollars in tax credits and incentives to industries where the government is developing wind and solar power, as well as to consumers who want to install solar. formulate a method for distributing He heats and cools the house with panels, an electric heat pump, or buys an electric car.
In addition to the Obama administration, Podesta, 73, served as President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff and chaired Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential campaign in 2016. He founded the Center for American Progress. He’s a tank and currently serves as chairman of the board. In that capacity, Podesta has privately advised the Biden administration and urged the White House to act more aggressively on climate change.
In hiring Podesta, Biden continues to be surrounded by veterans of past Democratic administrations.
“His deep roots in climate and clean energy policy and his experience at the senior government level mean we can truly get back on track,” Biden said in a statement. said.
Podesta will begin working at the White House on Tuesday as Gina McCarthy, the president’s national climate adviser, prepares to leave on Sept. 16, administration officials said.
McCarthy, 68, has played a central role in unifying climate policy across federal agencies and increasing government support for wind and solar development, but in recent months he has It was widely expected that he would resign. Mr. McCarthy has told his colleagues that his current job-related trips have been tiring and he had no intention of completing his four-year term as president.
It was a natural turning point for McCarthy when Biden signed into law last month. Her replacement will be taken over by her deputy, Ali Zaidi.
In an interview, Podesta said of his new job, “It’s about throwing the weight of federal policy behind a cycle of investment and innovation never seen before in the United States, which is almost unparalleled in the world. It’s something,” he explained.
He said the opportunity was “worth coming out of retirement”.
“The transformation of the energy economy will be the biggest thing happening economically in this country,” Podesta said. “If people feel this in their daily lives, it means they have better jobs, pay less for energy, breathe cleaner air, and have a less devastated future for their children.” because of the threat of climate change.”
White House pas de deux between Podesta and McCarthy says Democrats hope new actions on many fronts, like climate change, will improve prospects in November’s midterm elections stands at a critical crossroads for
Contents of the Inflation Control Law
Contents of the Inflation Control Law
substantive law. The $370 billion climate, tax and healthcare package signed by President Biden on August 16 could have far-reaching environmental and economic impacts. Here are some of the key provisions:
The passage of climate and tax bills has given impetus to a climate agenda that appeared to be on life support in a split within the Democratic Party and a recent Supreme Court ruling hostile to environmental regulation.
“This was like watching Lazarus rise from the dead,” Podesta wrote in a text the day the Senate passed the bill.
One of the challenges Podesta faces is the anger of some progressives over the new law. The new law promises historic levels of investment in climate action while also offering new fossil fuel projects.
West Virginia is a coal- and gas-rich state. , was the promise of new wind or solar projects on federal land. Or the waters will be linked to additional leases for oil and gas drilling.
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The International Energy Agency says countries must stop approving new fossil fuel projects if the world has any hope of avoiding the most devastating impacts of climate change. Combustion produces carbon emissions that are dangerously heating the planet.
To some progressives, the new law’s fossil fuels clause represents a betrayal by Mr. Biden, who has promised to halt new drilling projects in public lands and federal waters.
“Prolonging the age of fossil fuels perpetuates environmental racism, falls far out of step with climate science, and undermines our nation’s ability to avoid climate disasters,” said a coalition of more than 650 environmental groups. wrote. by letter To the Democratic congressional leader this week.
Another big challenge for Podesta is the sheer size of the funding provided by law, with about $370 billion being spent on energy and climate programs. Many of the institutions responsible for disbursing funds and managing programs have been destroyed under the Trump administration, losing hundreds of scientists and policy experts. With just over two years left in Mr. Biden’s term, he must get the lumbering federal bureaucracy ready and secure his broad green energy future promised by law.
“If you lose a year by hiring only a handful of people, you cannot reap the benefits of this incredible moment,” Center for American Progress Environmental Policy.
“What happens over the next two years is the cornerstone of all our climate change success,” said Goldfuss, who served in the Obama administration.
Energy analysts say the new climate law could allow the US to cut emissions by about 40% from 2005 levels over the next decade. Biden’s goal of 50-52% cuts will require more action, including federal regulation and more aggressive state policies on renewable energy adoption. .
For Podesta, who served as President Clinton’s chief of staff during the impeachment process and was brought in to bail out President Barack Obama’s difficult second term, his third visit to the White House has been daunting by comparison. Podesta had just bought a house in San Diego and wanted to retire before Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klein, proposed a new position, according to Podesta’s friends. It says.
Podesta’s brother, Tony, ran a highly successful Democratic lobbying firm in Washington that closed in 2017. Huawei Technologies, a telecommunications company in China.When Quantum Materials CorporationNanotech Maker; According to the Federal Disclosure Report.
John Podesta is perhaps best known as the consummate Washington power broker. He was the director of opposition research for 1988 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. He served on the Capitol as an aide to Vermont Democratic Senator Patrick J. Leahy. And so was Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota when he was the Democratic minority leader. Mr. Podesta also worked as a political consultant alongside his brother.
Podesta said he had an at times capricious temperament, but that has softened in recent years. In January, when the prospects for climate change legislation were at their darkest, Podesta made a grim assessment. The country failed the climate test. ”
Podesta will lead a task force of ministers and heads of 21 federal agencies that Biden created when he took office to mobilize governments to tackle climate change. Zaidi will serve as Vice Chairman.
As the new National Climate Advisor, Zaidi, 35, will assist Podesta in another office of technology and policy experts to guide new regulations on power plants, vehicles, oil and gas wells and other sources. supervise the Said.
For more than a decade, McCarthy, who served as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Obama administration, has shaped the country’s policy to combat global warming. She developed the country’s first regulation to cut pollution that contributes to global warming, but was later repealed by the Trump administration.
During the 2020 presidential election, she inspired Biden’s campaign promises. Biden promised to do more to combat climate change than any leader in US history. And as the president’s climate change officer, she was charged with delivering on that ambitious agenda.
Mr. Podesta recently said of Mr. McCarthy, “She will be seen at home and abroad as the person who got America back on the climate agenda.”