A6 EZ RE THEWASHINGTONPOST.SUNDAY,AUGUST 2 , 2020
LEAHMILLIS/REUTERSPresumptive Democratic presidential nominee JoeBiden speaksabout his plans for tackling climatechangeduringacampaigneventinWilmington, Del., on July 14.
“Therewere somepeopleon
our side thatwould have wanted
to getrid of all fossilfuels ASAP,”
saidCatherine Coleman Flowers,
aSanderssurrogateonthe panel.
Towardthe end of the panel’s
work, the Biden campaignadded
Rep.ConorLamb,aDemocrat
fromaruby-redstretchofwestern
Pennsylvania, to represent oil and
gasworkers in thecrucial swing
state. Thetask force eventually
recommended aclean-energy
standardthatincluded bothnu-
clear andgas-firedgeneration, as
longasthe latter capturesthecar-
bon it emits.
TheSanders campdid secure
one big win:Acommitmentto
eliminate carbonemissions from
power plantsonanaccelerated
15-yeartimeline.
Thevicepresident’s approach
alsoislargely in line with apack-
agefromDemocratsonthe House
SelectCommitteeonthe Climate
Crisissteering the economyto-
wardnet-zero emissions by the
middle of the century. Twoselect
committee members, Reps.Kathy
Castor (D-Fla.)and A. Donald
McEachin (D-Va.), served on
Biden’s task force.
“Itisnotcoincidentalthatthere
are similarities in thoseplans,”
McEachin said.
Even after rolling out his new
plan, Bidenhascontinued to face
pressurefrom the left.Lastweek,
morethan 100 liberalgroups, in-
cluding Greenpeace, calledfor the
nextpresidenttocommittoexecu-
tiveactions “toaddress the sys-
temicinequalitiesofpollutionand
the climate crisis.”
Prakash, the SunriseMove-
mentleaderwhoservedasaSand-
erssurrogateonBiden’staskforce,
saidhergroupstillwantsBidendo
moretoweanthecountryofffossil
fuels.
Meanwhile, environmentalad-
vocates have begun to workto
electacandidate who might not
have beentheir firstchoice, but
one who stands in sharpreliefto
Trump.
Recently, agroup thatincludes
theLeagueofConservationVoters
announcedanadcampaignacross
six states. “Whenitcomesto cli-
mate change, there’s no compari-
son,” reads one ad. “Trumpdenied
it. Bidenwill combat it.”
Michele Roberts,national co-
coordinator of the Environmental
Justice Health Alliance, was
among those consultedaboutcli-
mate by theBidencampaign this
spring.Sheremainscautiouslyop-
timistic, both thatBiden winsthe
election and thatheactually fol-
lowsthrough on his newpromis-
es.Butsheisalsothankfulthathis
campaign sought awiderangeof
voices thathavebeen overlooked
in thepast.
“Everybody knows thatJoe
Biden candoawhole bunchof
talking.But whathedid do was
thathealsolistened,” shesaid.“We
needed that. We needed someone
to listen.”
[email protected]
[email protected]Scott Clementcontributedto this
report.“Theyasked,‘Whatmatters?’I
toldthem,‘Whatmattersisgetting
itright,’”saidMitchell,whoisnow
partofagroup advising Biden on
environmentalissues.
CeciliaMartinez, co-founder of
the Minneapolis-based Center for
Earth, Energyand Democracy,
foundherself on an hour-longon-
linediscussion withBiden this
month aboutenvironmental rac-
ism.
Thenew Bidenplanincludes a
commitmenttoinvest40percent
ofthe clean energy moneyinhis-
torically disadvantagedcommu-
nities —prompting Martinez to
callit“the most innovativeand
bold plan in apresidential cam-
paign that we’veseen froman
environmental justice stand-
point.”
LonnieStephenson,headofthe
InternationalBrotherhoodof
ElectricalWorkers,startedtalking
to Biden about energypolicy in
August. “I said, ‘Truly,nuclear
needs to be in the mix,’”said Ste-
phenson, whose union represent-
ing about 775,000current and re-
tiredpowersector workersen-
dorsed Biden. Stephensoncau-
tioned againstthe GreenNew
Deal, which he considers “not
achievableorrealistic.”
Inslee,the formerrival, also
consulted with Biden,and asmall
group of Inslee’s formeradvisers
helped to persuadebothBiden
and congressional Democratsto
adoptpiecesofInslee’s far-reach-
ing climate plan.
Biden “recognized thisasa
unique moment, whenyou could
combine theeconomicbenefit of
clean energy with theenviron-
mentalbenefits,”Insleesaidinan
interview. “Hehad internalized
that.Itwasn’tjustatalkingpoint.”
HecalledBiden’s recentpropos-
al “ambitiousenoughfor the mo-
ment,”but also realistic enoughto
win votesin Congress. “This is a
real planthatcan be executed,”
Inslee said. “It’snot apipe dream
orawishlistorafantasy.”
Thecampaign also convened a
climate task force led by twovery
different Democratic archetypes:
John F. Kerry, the patrician76-
year-old former secretary of state
and 2004 presidentialnominee,
andAlexandriaOcasio-Cortez,the
30-year-old firsttermcongress-
woman from aworking-class
Bronx district who had endorsed
Sanders and helped craftthe
GreenNewDeal.
Logging on to Zoom each
Wednesdayfor aboutsix weeks,
the nine-person panelhammered
out an outline of aclimate plan
designedfor broadappeal.The
group debated difficult choices,
such as whethertosupport nucle-
ar powerortocall for aban on
natural gas fracking.
Despitebeingthe nation’sbig-
gestsourceofcarbon-freeelectric-
ity, nuclearenergyhaslongdrawn
concernsaboutthe storageofra-
dioactivewaste and the risk of
accidents. And morerecently,a
boominfrackinghasfedconcerns
abouthowthepracticecanpollute
drinking water while also emit-
tingmethane, apotent green-
housegas.care,the coronavirus pandemic,
taxes and immigration were more
important.
In crafting his plan, Biden
wanted to win over younger and
moreliberal voters but alsoavoid
alienating votersinswing states.
Theplannotably doesnotban
hydraulic fracturingfor natural
gas,knownasfracking,orruleout
nuclear power andother technol-
ogies thathavedivided environ-
mentaladvocates.
“The campaignis trying to rec-
oncileacombination of demands
thatnopoliticalcandidateforpres-
identto date has been able to suc-
cessfullynavigate,”saidJasonGru-
met, presidentof the Bipartisan
PolicyCenter.“All [Biden]needsto
do is blendthe ambitionof pro-
gressivesand scientists withthe
pragmatismoforganizedlabor,the
energyindustryand moderateRe-
publicans.That’s noeasytask.”
As the pandemic ragedthis
spring,Bidenaskedlongtimepoli-
cyaideStefFeldmanandothersto
craftamoredetailedsetofclimate
proposals.
“Thatwas right aroundthe mo-
mentwhenwewere starting to
recognize the full depthof the cor-
onavirus,both its healthimpact
and economic impact,”Feldman
said in an interview. “And so that
requiredustoscale up with the
planswehad since the beginning
of the campaign to recognize that
we were in anew moment, which
reallydemandedajobsagenda.”
Biden’s campaign reachedout
toseveralkeygroups:mainstream
green organizations, laborunions
and environmentaljusticeadvo-
cates.
Harold Mitchell, Jr., aformer
SouthCarolinalawmakerwhohas
spentdecadesfighting pollution
in communities of color, had
toured hisnative Spartanburg
withInsleeand had campaigned
forSteyer.ButinearlyApril,hegot
asurprise emailfromthe Biden
campaign.Obama-era environmental pro-
tections,announced U.S. with-
drawal fromthe Paris accordand
heavilypromoted the fossil fuels
linked to risingtemperatures.
TheTrumpcampaign, mean-
while, has calledBidena“puppet”
of activists who “are plotting to
strangleAmericanenergyproduc-
ers,sacrificing millions of good-
paying,blue-collarjobs on the al-
tar of their extreme climate agen-
da.”Andthepresidenthasinsisted
thatBiden’s planswill kill the
economy.
“Ifthesefar-leftpoliticiansever
getintopower, theywill demolish
not onlyyourindustrybut the
entireU.S.economy,” Trump said
Wednesdayduring aspeechin
Texas oil country.
TheAmericanPetroleumInsti-
tute, which represents theoil and
gas industry, says Biden’splanto
boost renewableenergywill has-
ten the declineof unionjobs as
their businessesreel from the cor-
onavirus pandemic.
Apoll conducted lastsummer
by TheWashingtonPostand the
Kaiser FamilyFoundation (KFF)
found thatagrowingnumber of
Americans describe climate
changeasacrisis, and two-thirds
saidTrump is doing toolittle to
tackletheproblem.Thepollfound
thatabout8in10Americans say
human activity is fueling climate
change, androughlyhalf believe
action is urgentlyneeded to avert
its worsteffects.
Still, climate changehas never
ranked as atop priorityfor most
voters,andrecentpollingsuggests
thatmanyhaveput the issuefur-
ther on thebackburner amid the
turbulence ofrecent months.
InMay, aKFFpollfoundthat
percent of registered voters na-
tionally saidclimate changeis
“very important”intheir vote —
down10percentage points from
whenthe group asked the same
questioninFebruary. Respon-
dentssaidthe economy, healthmentgave Biden an “F’rating,
sayinghis plan lacked detail and
paledincomparisontotheaggres-
siveactionproposedbyrivalssuch
as Sen. BernieSanders(I-Vt.) and
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.),
who hadembraced the far-reach-
ing GreenNewDeal.
Thisspring,withtheDemocrat-
ic nominationlockedup, Biden’s
campaign faced an imperative
challenge:todemonstratetothe
liberalwing of the party —includ-
ingskepticalenvironmentalactiv-
ists—thathewastheirguy,thathe
understood the urgencyofthe
problem and thathewould crafta
transformative plan to meetthe
moment.
Overthree months, the cam-
paigninvitedideasfromtheyoung
climate crusaders,union officials,
environmental justice leadersand
formerDemocraticrivals.
Theresultwas amore aggres-
sive andextensive plan thatcalled
for the eliminationofcarbon pol-
lution fromthe electric sector by
2035,rejoiningthe international
Parisclimateaccordandspending
$2 trillion over four yearsto boost
renewables and create incentives
for more energy-efficientcars,
homesandcommercialbuildings.
“We’veseenaprettyhugetrans-
formationinBiden’s climateplan,”
saidVarshini Prakash, co-founder
and executivedirector of the Sun-
rise Movement, which claims
more than 10,000 members.
Whilestopping shortofaformal
endorsement, Sunrise willnow
campaign forBiden,Prakashsaid.
“WhatI’veseen in the lastsixto
eight weeksis aprettybig transi-
tioninupping his ambition and
centeringenvironmentaljustice,”
she said.
In recentmeetingswith donors
and volunteers,Bidenhas repeat-
edly flagged climate as oneofcen-
tral crises facing the country,
along with the coronavirus pan-
demic, the struggling economy
andracial justice.
By elevating climate, Bidenis
tryingtochannel theenthusiasm
of voters whobacked Sanders, as
wellasWashingtonGov. JayInslee
(D)andexecutiveTomSteyer,who
madesavingthe planetacenter-
piece of their failedprimary cam-
paigns.
In addition, Bidenhopes to ap-
peal to moderateRepublicans
who saythey, too,are concerned
by impacts thatscientistssay are
inevitable in awarming world:
risingsea levels, devastating
droughts, crippling floods and
wildfiresand more frequentand
costly extreme weatherevents.
Biden has framedhis climate
plan as ajobsprogram,making
clear thatheisprepared to pour
unprecedented resources into
transitioning the United States
awayfromfossilfuelsaspartofthe
efforttoboost an economybat-
tered by the pandemic.
Climatechangealso presents
Biden with oneofthe most dra-
matic ways to distinguish himself
from President Trump, whohas
dismissed the science behindcli-
mate change,rolled back scoresof
BIDENFROMA
Outreach helped Biden shape his ambitious climate plan
Source:U.S. Energy Information
Administration
JOHNMUYSKENS/THEWASHINGTON POSTBiden’s goalfor aclean
powersectorbyShareofU.S.electricity
generationfrom
carbon-free sources2001 2019 2035100%28%38%ALEXWONG/GETTYIMAGES
Varshini Prakash, executive director of theSunriseMovement,the youth-led groupthat gave Biden an
“F”rating on his original climateplan,now says hergroup will campaign for him.“What I’veseeninthe
last six to eightweeks
is apretty big
transition in uppinghis
ambition and centering
environmental justice.”
VarshiniPrakash,on Biden’splan