Early on Tuesday, there was some chatter that President Joe Biden was going to issue an emergency declaration on climate change, and that it could come as early as this Wednesday. Ultimately, the White House confirmed during Tuesday's press briefing that that wasn't happening that specific timeline, but it could happen in the coming weeks. Further, this White House is just as engaged in warning about climate alarmism as ever.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in her opening remarks warned that "no one is immune from climate change," which is "why the president has been rallying the world to take the decisive action needed in this decade to tackle the climate change, uh, the climate crisis."
KJP: "The impacts of extreme weather are intensifying across the globe...no on is immune from climate change." pic.twitter.com/YCTKSlA2eH
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 19, 2022
She was also asked by a reporter if the president was worried about relying too much on executive actions. Jean-Pierre finally managed to answer that Biden was "not going to just stop with the actions of [Wednesday]," but also that "I would not plan a, uh, a, uh, announcement this week on national climate emergency," though she also emphasized "again, everything is on the table, it's just, uh, not going to be this week."
That part of her answer didn't come until after Jean-Pierre sang the president's praises for his handling of the issue, which he apparently has taken the lead on since he first came to Congress decades ago.
The press secretary stressed "this is an issue that's been front of mind for him, this is an issue that has been, when it comes to the climate crisis, a, uh, priority, and taking action is something that he said he will do if Congress won't, and he has been taking action as we, have, uh, as I had just stated in my opening remarks, since he's uh, since he's taken office."
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The point that Biden will act if Congress won't was most certainly a dig at Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).
Last week Manchin caused mass hysteria from fellow Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media when it comes to his appropriate sense of caution and hesitancy on coming out in favor of reckless spending bills. One professor even claimed she was "holding her children and sobbing" as she tweeted a piece from The Washington Post highlighting Manchin's opposition.
A report from The Washington Post updated on Tuesday night has more:
Biden does not plan to declare a climate emergency when he delivers a speech Wednesday in Somerset, Mass., the White House later confirmed, acknowledging it has not ruled out issuing such a declaration at another time. But those familiar with the president’s thinking said that other executive action may be imminent. Administration officials have emphasized in recent days that all options are on the table as Biden seeks to meet his ambitious climate goals.
The internal scramble reflected the political bind facing Democrats, who took power in Washington 1½ years ago and set about trying to use their rare majorities to enact historic climate-related investments. Repeatedly, however, those hopes have been dashed — with the latest setback coming last week when Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) raised renewed concerns about his party’s broader spending ambitions.
With an unprecedented political window rapidly closing, a slew of lawmakers Tuesday emphasized the need for the White House to take the reins. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the leader of the Senate Budget Committee, urged the Biden administration to act “given the global crisis we’re facing, given the inability of Congress to address the existential threat.” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), meanwhile, stressed to reporters that the White House has “a lot of power, and we really want them to use that power to do things.”
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The president himself pledged extensive executive action on climate change last week, as talks collapsed between Democratic leaders and Manchin over a broader economic spending package.
“My actions will create jobs, improve our energy security, bolster domestic manufacturing and supply chains, protect us from oil and gas price hikes in the future, and address climate change,” Biden promised in a statement Friday, adding: “I will not back down: The opportunity to create jobs and build a clean energy future is too important to relent.”
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In the meantime, the debacle on Capitol Hill only has added to the pressure on Biden, as he prepares to deliver his speech Wednesday reemphasizing his commitment to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at least in half by the end of the decade compared with 2005 levels. The White House has billed the address as one focused on “tackling the climate crisis and seizing the opportunity of a clean energy future to create jobs and lower costs for families.”
Speaking later Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the president would not use the address to invoke a national climate emergency. She declined to say why Biden decided against doing so now, and she acknowledged the option remains on the table.
Jean-Pierre did not provide specifics of just how the administration would use such a declaration if it does invoke it in the coming weeks. But she emphasized that issuing such an emergency designation would be different from a public health emergency declaration — something Democrats and abortion activists have been pushing the White House to do in the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
Some climate activists have urged the White House in recent months to deploy an emergency declaration to maximum effect, arguing that it would allow the president to halt crude oil exports, limit oil and gas drilling in federal waters, and direct agencies including the Federal Emergency Management Agency to boost renewable-energy sources.
“Starting with an emergency declaration is a good place to start, but then you actually have to do the things to lower emissions,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told reporters Tuesday, adding that he is “looking forward to those steps.” Asked whether the White House had talked to members of Congress about issuing a climate emergency, Whitehouse merely replied, “Yes.”
Such alarmism evidenced not merely when it comes to remarks from Jean-Pierre, but John Kirby, who serves as the press secretary for the Department of Defense (DOD). He too spoke at Tuesday's press briefing, to further prove the Biden administration has made it clear that climate alarmism is their top priority across the board, even and including with matters of defense.
KIRBY: "Climate change is a national security issue." pic.twitter.com/FJSpY7AA2I
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 19, 2022
"Climate change is a national security issue," Kirby said. "Not only does it affect our infrastructure," he lamented, as he listed Nortolk Naval Base as one such base that has had to fix its infrastructure due to rising sea levels, "it has an impact on our readiness," with us "supposedly seeing it now."
On an international level, Kirby qaclaimed that the conflict in Syria is to blame over climate change, as "it creates instability, which creates insecurity in some places," with how climate can "actually drive military missions and force the military to become involved in places and in times where they wouldn't have had to otherwise." He stumbled his way through listing Syria as such an example, because the fighting there "started really as a result of a drought."
John Kirby says that climate change is responsible for the fighting in Syria. pic.twitter.com/rtf9lYg7xA
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 19, 2022
Let's not forget that not only is our DOD focused on what the Biden administration has tried to incessantly claim is "the climate crisis," but also making for a more woke military. Last month, for instance, in celebration of pride month, the Navy sent out one of the worst productions imaginable that instructed how to go about using the proper pronouns. We're so likely screwed in comparison to the preparedness of powers like China and Russia.
For what it's worth, voters don't seem particularly concerned with climate change, at least not when it comes to the upcoming November midterm elections. FiveThirtyEight has conducted several surveys now asking Americans what issues matter to them most. The amount of Americans increasingly concerned about guns and abortion have increased in light of recent events, but inflation has remained the top concern and keeps increasing in how many respondents find it to be the most important issue. For the most recent survey, climate change ranked as the eighth most important issue, with 13 percent indicating it was the most important issue right now.
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