Biden to tout climate policy in visit to baking US southwest - France 24
Biden to tout climate policy in visit to baking US southwest
Washington (AFP) – President Joe Biden is set to begin a series of visits Monday touting his climate agenda in the southwestern United States, which has suffered a blistering summer of record-breaking heat.
Issued on:
The first stop on his tour will be to the Grand Canyon in Arizona where, according to several US media outlets, he is likely to name a new national monument.
The declaration would effectively prevent uranium mining in the area, a ban sought for decades by local Native American tribes.
Biden, who is running for re-election, plans to use the trip to "highlight how his administration has made historic investments in climate, conservation, and clean energy," according to the White House.
He will also spend Tuesday in Arizona, before traveling the next day to neighboring New Mexico.
Both states and the surrounding region have experienced severe heat waves this summer, with Arizona's capital Phoenix in July recording the hottest month ever for a US city.
Scientists warn that global warming is making heat waves hotter, longer and more frequent.
The multi-state trip comes just ahead of the one-year anniversary of Biden's signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, a mammoth package of climate investments and other programs that has become the centerpiece of his first term in office.
Biden regularly describes climate change as an "existential threat," and criticizes his Republican opponents for failure to act on the issue.
Besides addressing the summer heat crisis, Biden's visit to Arizona also comes with its electoral incentives.
The 80-year-old Democrat narrowly won Arizona in 2020, and it is among the handful of states expected to be decisive in determining next year's presidential election.
On Thursday, Biden is expected to travel to Utah where the focus will be on veterans' programs.
© 2023 AFP
Related Knowledge Center: Climate diplomacy
Talks are well underway in preparation for the next major international meeting on climate change, 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), scheduled to begin Nov. 30 in the United Arab Emirates.
Much like last year’s COP27, finances — specifically, aid to developing nations — will be at the center of conference deliberations.
The conference faces an even greater sense of urgency brought on by the Sept. 8, 2023, release of the first global stocktake, which calls for accelerated action to meet the goals set in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement (COP21).
Climate diplomacy: COP 27 | Climate diplomacy: COP 28 | Climate diplomacy: COP 29