14 November 2020 | New Scientist | 7US PRESIDENT-ELECT Joe Biden
has said he will “listen to science”,
promising to take new stances
on addressing covid-19, climate
change and other key issues.
The transition team for
Biden and Kamala Harris, the
US’s first black, Indian-American
and female vice president-elect,
has pledged to double the
number of drive-through
coronavirus testing sites,
address shortages of personal
protective equipment and work
with the US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention to “dial
up or down” social distancing.
The incoming administration
will also establish a new covid-
task force, allocate $25 billion
for vaccine development anddistribution, and cancel plans
for the US to leave the World
Health Organization.
This approach contrasts
with that of Donald Trump’s
administration, which has
sent mixed messages on mask-
wearing and undermined key
science agencies fighting to limit
the spread of the virus. However,
as Biden won’t be inaugurated
until 20 January next year, he
is likely to inherit a far worse
crisis than today’s.
As the US election dominated
attention, the country’s covid-
cases surged to their highest levelsyet. More than 100,000 daily
cases were reported for three
consecutive days between 4 and
6 November – the first time this
threshold has been exceeded –
taking the US near the milestone
of 10 million cases cumulatively.
Daily deaths have yet to reach the
heights that they hit in April, but
have started to increase.
The new administration’s
efforts on covid-19 will
overlap with one of its other
top priorities, tackling racism,
through the creation of a task
force on ethnic disparities
around the illness. So far, blackIn contrast to his predecessor, US president-elect Joe Biden will use a
science-based strategy to tackle the pandemic, says Adam VaughanA new covid-19 approach
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US electionUS vice president-elect
Kamala Harris and
president-elect Joe Bidenpeople have accounted for
108 deaths per 100,000 people
in the US, almost twice the rate
for white people in the country.
Biden’s presidency will also
mark a break with Trump’s
approach to climate change. The
president-elect has said that when
he takes office, he will immediately
reverse Trump’s withdrawal from
the Paris climate agreement that
came into effect on 4 November
and call on other countries to
increase their ambition.
His transition team said
the administration would put
the US on “an irreversible path
to achieve net-zero emissions,
economy-wide, by no later
than 2050”. The move would
decrease global warming by 0.1°C,
according to estimates by analysts
Climate Action Tracker. The
group said that, combined with
net-zero targets from China, Japan,
South Korea and other countries,
a “tipping point” is being
approached that brings the Paris
accord’s 1.5°C target within reach.
Although the Democratic
party’s lack of control of the
US senate may limit how bold
the new administration can be
on carbon emissions, there is
plenty that it could deliver.
In debates, Biden said that he
would “transition from the oil
industry” and promised to end
new drill leases for public land
and water, which would have a
big impact offshore.
Unlike Elizabeth Warren, his
rival in the race to be the 2020
Democratic presidential candidate,
Biden doesn’t support a break-up
of technology titans. However, a
case brought last month by the US
government accusing Google of
being a “monopoly gatekeeper”
may still go ahead under Biden.
Meanwhile, on 20 January, Trump
will lose the privileges that world
leaders enjoy on Twitter, meaning
he could face bans for future
inflammatory tweets. ❚