“Now, Manchin isn’t solely responsible for Congress’ failure to act. There are 50 Republican senators who have refused to support Biden’s bill, or offer any realistic alternative plan to fight climate change,” writes our editorial board for latimesopinion
Much has been made of the cost of the new president’s proposals and of his supposed push for “big government.” In fact, Biden has been playing catch-up, trying to adjust for years of federal detachment.to move quickly now to cut carbon. Biden’s plan is an attempt to do that by offering tax credits and incentives to encourage companies and consumers to invest in clean energy and vehicles.
Now, Manchin isn’t solely responsible for Congress’ failure to act. There are 50 Republican senators who have refused to support Biden’s bill, or offer any realistic alternative plan to fight climate change. Manchin and GOP lawmakers parrot fossil-fuel industry talking points that the energy sector is already moving to renewable power and accelerating the transition would risk the reliability of the electric grid. But the U.S., along with other major world polluters, aren’t moving fast enough to phase out fossil fuels and cut carbon to limit global temperature rise.
This cannot be the end of the U.S. ambition to fight climate change. The Democrats must continue to push for the Build Back Better bill. There’s too much at stake.