„This is the last best shot we\u2019re really going to have.“<\/b>
\nOn Sunday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) may have delivered a final blow to the United States\u2019s best chance to take action on the climate crisis this decade. After months of negotiations with the White House and Democratic leaders, Manchin announced on Fox News that he will be a \u201cno\u201d vote on the centerpiece of the president\u2019s domestic agenda in its current form. That agenda \u2014 known as the Build Back Better Act \u2014 would have invested $555 billion in clean electricity, electric vehicles, and reducing methane emissions. Although the $1.75 trillion bill has already passed the House of Representatives, a no vote from Manchin would ensure the bill does not have a path forward in the Senate. That\u2019s because Democrats were relying on a budget process that requires 50 Senate votes to get it to President Joe Biden\u2019s desk. As Vox\u2019s Andrew Prokop wrote, it\u2019s possible that Manchin\u2019s Sunday comments were just another negotiating tactic, and he could be convinced to support a revised version of the Build Back Better plan that delivers on what he wants. But if the bill truly is a goner, it will be much more than a political setback for the Biden agenda. It will be a colossal tragedy for the planet and future generations, which are depending on the US government to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels this decade with major legislation like this bill, to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The bill also contains funding for adapting to climate change and helping the most vulnerable communities; without it, the US will be far less prepared to face escalating climate disasters here at home. It\u2019s unlikely Democrats will have exactly the same set of political circumstances \u2014 in control of both the presidency and Congress \u2014 to pass a similarly ambitious climate agenda in the next decade. \u201cWe won\u2019t be acting on the climate crisis if we don\u2019t pass this bill, and there\u2019s not a decade left to waste,\u201d said Leah Stokes, a climate political scientist at UC-Santa Barbara who has been advising Democrats. \u201cSenator Manchin talks a lot about that and what he owes to his grandchildren, and the number one thing he owes to his grandchildren is a livable planet.\u201d Democrats probably won\u2019t get a second chance after next year\u2019s midterms to act. And the next time they do have a chance, it may be too late to limit some of the worst effects of warming. The US can\u2019t reach its climate goals without congressional legislation If passed, the Build Back Better Act would deliver the largest injection of federal funds into clean energy and emissions reductions that the country has ever seen. It would tackle the two biggest sources of US pollution that come from the transportation and electricity sectors, by boosting clean energy, electric vehicles, and charging stations. The US is responsible for the largest share of global warming, so serious federal action is essential to closing the gap. Climate scientists have warned that once the atmosphere warms more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, we will live in a drastically changed world. If countries, corporations, and individuals don\u2019t take immediate action to reduce pollution, the world may hit that grim milestone in just 10 years. The bill would also literally save lives. For example, its clean energy funding would help close the nation\u2019s last coal plants, eliminating an energy source that releases particulate matter that contributes to asthma, heart attacks, and other disease. One Harvard estimate found that reaching 80 percent clean electricity by 2030 would save 9,200 lives in 2030 alone, and another 317,500 through 2050. Finally, the bill would dedicate hundreds of millions of dollars to helping communities prepare for worsening floods, heat, and fires in the name of climate justice. One program would help tribes relocate away from areas threatened by climate change, and other investments would help disadvantaged communities improve their water and physical infrastructure. By the time the bill passed the House of Representatives, progressive Democrats had already made some concessions that weakened some of the key provisions. They scaled down the overall cost of the bill and cut some proposals, including setting a national standard to reach 80 percent clean energy by 2030. All of that was to appease Manchin. It just didn\u2019t work. \u201cUtter nonsense,\u201d a \u201ccatastrophic failure\u201d: The climate community reacts Manchin released a statement after his Fox appearance elaborating on why he said \u201cI just can\u2019t\u201d vote for the legislation. Several of his complaints targeted the climate provisions in the bill. He said the Build Back Better Act would harm the electric grid and increase dependence on foreign supply chains. He worried a faster energy transition \u201cwill have catastrophic consequences for the American people like we have seen in both Texas and California in the last two years\u201d\u2014 likely a reference to power outages and volatile energy rates from extreme weather the past few years. (In fact, a major reason his West Virginia constituents have faced higher utility rates in recent years is coal is getting more expensive.) Climate advocates who helped Democrats design the Build Back Better plan were grieving Sunday over what the loss would mean for both the planet and public health. Jesse Jenkins, a Princeton expert on the electricity sector and adviser to the White House on the Build Back Better plan, called Manchin\u2019s news \u201cdevastating\u201d and his excuses \u201cutter nonsense.\u201d Sam Ricketts, co-director of the advocacy group Evergreen Action, who has advised Democrats on the bill, called Manchin \u201cduplicitous\u201d for leaving \u201cthe important needs of the country unfulfilled.\u201d He countered Manchin\u2019s claims, saying, \u201cThe Build Back Better act would reduce Americans\u2019 energy costs, not increase [them]. It would enhance American economic competitiveness, not decrease it. It would increase the reliability and resiliency of the electric grid, not the opposite.\u201d Ricketts suspected Manchin had it backward because, he said, the senator was more informed \u201cby corporate donors or by ignorance.\u201d Manchin\u2019s son is a leader in the coal industry, and Manchin himself has made $4.5 million from his investments in coal over the course of his Senate career. Over the past year, Manchin has reaped more campaign donations from the oil, gas, and coal industries than any other senator. Climate activists are also dismayed because Congress has promised action for years, but failed to deliver. And they point to a larger pattern of how obstructionists \u2014 both in the Republican and Democratic parties \u2014 have sunk the US\u2019s best chances of action again and again. Longtime climate activist and writer Bill McKibben noted that Manchin\u2019s obstruction fits the long legacy of a Congress that can\u2019t pass climate legislation to meet the scale of the crisis. There are still plenty of unanswered questions after Manchin\u2019s announcement. Will Congress be able to salvage a smaller deal that still delivers on climate cuts? In a statement Sunday, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) advocated for that path. \u201cMajor climate and clean energy provisions of the Build Back Better Act have largely been negotiated, scored for ten years, and financed,\u201d he said. \u201cLet\u2019s pass these provisions now. We cannot let this moment pass.\u201d Another question: Could Democrats find another legislative vehicle that will finally win Manchin\u2019s support? Progressive lawmakers have already pointed fingers at the White House and Democratic leadership for their political failure, but some have hinted there may still be a path forward. Grieving climate activists also echoed that this isn\u2019t a moment to give up. \u201cThis is the last best shot we\u2019re really going to have to enact national policy that deals with the climate crisis in the scope and scale that\u2019s necessary,\u201d said Ricketts. \u201cWe still have a Democratic president in the White House who has claimed that climate is a top priority for his administration. Now let\u2019s see them deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n