By Cameron Martin (Climate Correspondent)
Edited by Ena Saracevic (Social Affairs Editor)
Over recent days it is rumoured that Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States of America, is about to declare a climate emergency. This is due to the fact that vast amounts of Americans have had to endure extreme heat during the past few weeks, even resulting in widespread wildfires. In declaring a climate emergency, it would give Biden the ability to access new powers that would aid him in preventing climate change. A climate emergency has the potential of creating a mass reaction from the current world leaders and would demonstrate that the United States has a committed leader in combatting climate change.
With the US and even now the UK experiencing wildfires due to the severe changes in the temperature, it is clear that changes need to be made. It is said that tens of millions of people in the US have been living under heat warnings for the past week, some places with the heat bordering on record-breaking. The temperature of the globe has risen to 1.1 degrees and won’t stop unless governments take action now, with world leaders having already agreeing to limit the temperature to 1.5 degrees at COP26 in 2021.
Biden would be right to declare this as an emergency since it would spark more action across the country, and the globe, to tackle climate change. This is already visible, with the American president announcing a $2.3bn plan to combat this prevalent problem by introducing the building of infrastructure that can survive natural disasters and severe weather conditions. A climate emergency would also mean that reducing carbon emissions would be a top priority. This step would force other leaders from across the globe to act.
“Climate change is literally an existential threat to our nation and to the world,” Joe Biden announced during Wednesday’s speech, which was delivered outside a former coal-fired power plant, “The health of our citizens and our communities is literally at stake… So we have to act.”
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