Environmental activists urging President Joe Biden to wage a stronger fight against climate change are facing an agonizing strategic decision: How hard can they push him without risking throwing the election to former President Donald Trump?
Despite delivering the largest-ever investment in climate action through Congress, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into technologies such as wind power and electric cars, Biden and his appointees have faced loud protests from activists dismayed by administration actions boosting oil and gas production. Unhappiness is especially rife among the young climate-minded voters who Democrats worry will either sit out the November election or back a third-party candidate.
largest-ever investment in climate action through Congress
Biden has made recent moves to shore up his support from the Democrats’ green wing, including a pause on new approvals for natural gas export projects. But environmental leaders wonder how aggressively they can prod Biden to go further without causing fatal damage to his campaign — for instance, by pressuring him into positions that would feed Trump’s accusations that his green agenda is endangering the economy.
Protests decrying the administration’s pro-fossil-fuel actions also run the risk of further demoralizing activists who see any compromises as dooming the planet.
