Biden Steps Out of COP as Republicans Lean In | Real Clear Energy
Biden Steps Out of COP as Republicans Lean In
By Danielle Butcher Franz
World leaders, industry groups, and activists gathered in Dubai to chart the path forward on one of our biggest global challenges: climate change. Yet, the meeting came and went without an appearance from President Biden, who chose to stay on the sidelines.
While the United States has made significant strides in combating climate change over the past year, there are still serious gaps in our climate strategy, concentrated in three major areas: permitting reform, nuclear energy, and American energy dominance.
The Inflation Reduction Act may have resulted in massive clean energy investments, but without robust permitting reform, clean energy projects will languish in bureaucratic no-mans-land for years. Nuclear energy continues to be our best option for both energy security and emissions reductions, yet misguided fear, inflated start-up costs, and miles of red tape are holding the industry back from growth. Finally, American energy is clean energy, and the sooner we embrace domestic energy production, the sooner we can protect our energy future and reduce global emissions.
As long as these issues are not being addressed domestically, there’s a case for President Biden showing face at the largest climate gathering in the world. While robust policy wasn’t hashed out at COP28, President Biden's nonattendance equates the United States to the likes of China and Russia, major emitters with little ambition to collaborate for solutions.
China, a major emitter exceeding the developed world combined, benefits from a "developing" status from the United Nations, avoiding stringent climate regulations despite its impressive GDP. Another climate villain, Russia routinely skips international gatherings such as COP while pumping CO2 into the atmosphere through its war efforts and weaponized energy production.
Encouragingly, a bipartisan congressional delegation co-led by Representative Kelly Amstrong (R-ND) attended the conference, showcasing growing conservative engagement on climate issues.
With members of Congress from both major political parties showing face at COP28, President Biden’s absence is especially notable. The United States cannot afford to cede leadership on climate, nor can we slow the momentum on the issue of climate worldwide. Our domestic climate actions are of the utmost importance, but we must also translate that leadership to other nations as well. If the United States reduced its emissions to zero tomorrow, for instance, China would still be pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The world must unite, led by the United States, to ensure that all major emitters are held accountable.
Even though President Biden did not make time for COP28, fortunately, a bipartisan codel demonstrated that climate leadership is alive and well in the United States.
Our country must be at the climate table to represent American interests and ensure that an innovative, forward-thinking approach to climate prevails. We must champion clean nuclear power, streamline burdensome regulations to unleash energy production, and ensure American energy dominance on the world stage – all priorities that span across political differences domestically. It's not just about symbolic gestures; it's about securing America's standing as a leader on the world stage.
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