Biden’s Administration and “Green Transition” Problems

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the J. Biden administration policy in relation to the “green transition”, i.e. the shift from the use of fossil fuels in the economy to renewable energy sources. In the context of the B. Obama and D. Trump administrations’ attitudes to the problem of climate change, the authors study achievements and failures of the current American leadership on this path. Particular attention is paid to the obstacles faced by the Biden administration. Among them are the inability to consistently finance environmental initiatives through Congress, inconsistency in the implementation of the “Green Course” within the country, the lack of readiness of key emission countries (China, India) to actively participate in achieving the Paris climate goals, etc. In addition, the contradictions within the Democratic Party on the issue of environmental policy between the “centrists” and supporters of the “Green New Deal” program are analyzed, which consist in different stances on the role of a state in the “Green Transit”, importance of social measures, main spheres for investments, the role of America in global transit, etc. It is also pointed to the fierce opposition to the administration’s climate policy from the Republican Party. Its conservative faction is convinced that the scale, pace and role of a man in the crisis are artificially inflated by the Democrats, so there is no need to rush and resort to semi-military methods of centralized resource mobilization. Market forces, which simply must not be hindered, will cope much more successfully with the problem of the impact of warming on humans. The neoconservative group believes that the resources of humanity should be directed not to the fight against greenhouse emissions, but to economic development, which will allow the country and civilization to adapt to climate changes. It is concluded that there is a potential possibility of reaching a bipartisan consensus on climate change, but at this stage, under pressure from radical groups, this possibility seems unlikely. Therefore, in the coming years, it is questionable that the Biden administration will be able to actively promote its domestic climate agenda and new model of globalization.