Separating Coal and State
By: Amanda Hanemaayer
Tags: Climate Action, Politics, Climate Change, Policy, Environment

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Oil and gas companies have had one foot in the door of the White House for decades. Through intense lobbying of politicians and non-elected state officials, they have been successful in overriding the voices of climate scientists and environmental activists, propagating denial in favour of burning up pro-climate legislation — and the world along with it — to protect the profits driven by their oil sands and petroleum exploration efforts.

The Trump administration has been a pawn and partner for these endeavours, dismantling more than 100 climate policies and environmental rules governing air quality, water, toxic substances, and wildlife within his term, and appointing more ex-lobbyists than either of his predecessors managed within 8 years.

Andrew Wheeler — the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency — formerly worked as a coal industry lobbyist. David Bernhardt — acting as Secretary of the Interior — lobbied for the petroleum exploration and production company Cobalt International Energy, among others. The list goes on to include a staggering 281 former lobbyists appointed to Cabinet-level positions (as of October 2019) under the Republican administration.

Where Trump effectively established a penthouse for biased influence, putting power in the hands of people with ties to the industries they are intended to regulate, Joe Biden has developed a climate team that stands in radical contrast.

Announcing the selection on Saturday, Biden emphasized that “just like we [America] need to be a unified nation to respond to Covid-19, we need a unified national response to climate change,” insisting that the current reality of climate change is in fact a matter of emergency.

Under this premise, Gina McCarthy — an environmental health and air quality expert, who previously served as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under former-President Obama — has been selected as the first ever national climate adviser. Without a requirement for Senate confirmation, her appointment represents a strong stride in the direction of acting with urgency on matters related to cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Within her previous work at EPA, McCarthy promoted paradigmatic shifts in American environmental policy, implementing the earliest national limits for carbon emissions from power plants and guiding various other initiatives that aimed to reduce air pollution, protect water resources and improve environmental safety, all on the basis of public health.

Although harmed and rescinded by four years of climate denial under Donald Trump, McCarthy’s past record of holistic environmental stewardship provides compelling hope for stronger climate action moving forward.

Embodying Kamala Harris’ assessment that climate change is “not a partisan issue” but rather “an existential threat to all of us,” this emerging team will also draw its strength from diversity.

If approved by the Senate, Deb Haaland will become the first Native American to lead the Department of the Interior. Representing communities often forgotten amid discussions of land and place, she would hold responsibility for managing connections between the American government and hundreds of recognized indigenous groups.

Michael Regan, elected to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, would become the first Black man to lead the department, and Brenda Mallory will be the first Black woman to head the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

After a term that severely aggravated the climate crisis, this incoming team will help push forth an ambitious plan to address the mounting threat of climate change, separating coal and state. And giving representation to marginalized groups that are often exposed to the worst ramifications of the crisis, this endeavour holds true to the promise of supporting America in its entirety, rather than simply a few.