As millions on three continents were baked into heatwaves fueled by climate change this week, an American politician, a staunch champion of the fossil fuel industry, has glossed over all hopes for immediate climate action in Washington.
That politician is Senator Joe Manchin III from West Virginia, a state of 1.8 million people. Like my colleagues Emily Cochrane and Lisa Friedman reported late in the evening on Thursday of Washington, Manchin said he would not support his fellow Democrats’ proposals to fund climate or energy programs. Party leaders had been negotiating with Manchin for nearly 18 months. They had steadily scaled down their climate ambitions to gain his support. He still didn’t agree.
It follows a decision of the Supreme Court that curtailed the federal government’s powers to control emissions from power plants.
Taken together, the implications for the world’s 7 billion people are huge. Here are the main takeaways:
Manchin used his excessive leverage.
With the Senate split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, Manchin is hugely influential. He’s been a holdout on several main climate proposalslike helping Americans pay for electric vehicles.
It’s not entirely surprising. Manchin’s family has long earned a lot of money from the coal trade, such as mine colleagues have documented. He has also raised more money from the oil and gas industry than any other senator.
Whether Manchin’s influence will last after the November congressional elections is a mystery. He would lose his pivotal role if Republicans or Democrats increased their numbers in both houses.
Republicans are vehemently against climate legislation. It doesn’t matter that a majority of Americans, in opinion poll after opinion pollwant the government to do more to address the risks.
It is a defeat for global efforts to slow climate change.
The United States is the largest emitter of global warming greenhouse gases in history. Per capita emissions remain by far the highest in the world.
Without rapid emissions reductions from the United States, it seems virtually impossible for the world to limit the rise in global average temperatures. If climate legislation is not passed, it will take away diplomatic leverage to pressure other countries to take climate action themselves.
That includes China, which currently produces the bulk of global emissions, as well as major emerging economies such as Brazil, India and South Africa, whose emissions are increasing.
“Manchin’s rejection and the recent Supreme Court ruling have dealt a serious blow to climate credibility in the US,” said Li Shuo, Beijing-based senior policy adviser for Greenpeace East Asia. Underscoring what many people abroad consider to be a given, Li said, “that “the biggest historical emitter can hardly deliver on its climate promises”.
The United States, which has been central to rallying countries around the 2015 Paris Agreement, has been an unreliable partner.
The Paris accord aims to have each country set its own climate action goals every five years and then exert diplomatic peer pressure on each other to do more. Donald J. Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement altogether. President Biden rejoined and proposed new, ambitious targets to halve greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030. This is less ambitious than European and UK targets, both of which are enshrined in law.
For the United States, these goals cannot be achieved without far-reaching climate legislation. The United States is currently not on track to even deliver on its original promise, according to an analysis this week by the Rhodium Group.
It could sidetrack the United States from international talks and give other countries more leverage.
There’s little left for John F. Kerry, the Biden administration’s climate envoy, to show the rest of the world when he attends the next global climate talks in Egypt in November. It makes a mockery of the “America is back” rhetoric presented at last year’s climate talks.
“This will baffle US allies and reduce further US influence on what happens in the energy economy around the world,” said Joss Garman, director of the European Climate Foundation. “While this is undoubtedly a major setback to international efforts to achieve climate security, with oil and gas prices so high and clean energy so cheap by comparison, the transition is sure to move ahead quickly, albeit now that China and Europe have more opportunity. to create jobs and industrial benefits in key markets.”
It is a political defeat for the White House.
Manchin’s rejection of the climate plan makes it virtually impossible for the president to enact climate legislation, which he promised to do when he was elected. “It looks bleak,” my colleague Lisa Friedman explained to me. The Biden administration can still draft some rules it has been slow to implement so as not to upset Manchin during delicate negotiations, she said. They include regulations on methane and mercury. They don’t necessarily need regulatory approval. “So if the administration wants to move forward with some aggressive regulations, they can, but there will be a lot to do in just over two years,” said Lisa.
Also, Biden literally couldn’t be in a worse place. When the news broke, the president was on his way to Saudi Arabia, a petro-state, in an effort to lower world oil prices.
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We are working on more coverage, including what could be coming for climate action. Stay informed here.
Essential news from The Times
Exhausting a rainforest for fuel: Nearly 90 percent of Congolese use charcoal or firewood for cooking. It speeds up deforestation in an area that equals the Amazon in importance.
Crypto Emissions: The largest Bitcoin miners in the US could use almost as much power as all the houses in Houston. Democrats say they should be required to report their energy consumption.
A record pace for electric vehicle sales: Electric vehicles have accounted for 5.6 percent of all car sales in recent months, twice as much as a year ago. Question is running well above the offer.
How to save old trees: Strategies used by Yosemite officials to save giant redwoods from wildfires include setting up sprinklers to water them and cover them with foam.
Unlucky Russian allies: Russia’s efforts to evade sanctions and find new buyers for its oil have forced its allies Venezuela and Iran to discount on their raw.
An unprecedented heat warning: For the first time, the British weather services have covered parts of the country under a red alert for heat.
Hold the mustard: A perfect storm of climate change, war and supply chain problems has led to a shortage of the seeds needed to make Dijon. It was caused deep unrest in France.
Tell us about your hurricane or flood bills
As we examine how extreme weather and the climate crisis are affecting Americans, you can: help us by describing what you’ve been through in home repairs and other costs.
Before you go: New life for old coal plants
In the United States, coal-fired power plants, once a huge source of greenhouse gases, are being shut down. But they still have a useful function: they are connected to the electricity grid. New renewable energy ventures, such as wind and solar farms, are trying to take advantage of that infrastructure to: save a lot of time and money.
Thank you for reading. We’ll be back on Tuesday.
Manuela Andreoni, Claire O’Neill and Douglas Alteen contributed to Climate Forward.
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