«This is the last best shot we’re really going to have.»
On Sunday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) may have delivered a final blow to the United States’s 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 “no” vote on the centerpiece of the president’s domestic agenda in its current form. That agenda — known as the Build Back Better Act — 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’s because Democrats were relying on a budget process that requires 50 Senate votes to get it to President Joe Biden’s desk. As Vox’s Andrew Prokop wrote, it’s possible that Manchin’s 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’s unlikely Democrats will have exactly the same set of political circumstances — in control of both the presidency and Congress — to pass a similarly ambitious climate agenda in the next decade. “We won’t be acting on the climate crisis if we don’t pass this bill, and there’s not a decade left to waste,” said Leah Stokes, a climate political scientist at UC-Santa Barbara who has been advising Democrats. “Senator 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.” Democrats probably won’t get a second chance after next year’s 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’t 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.
