The Climate Crisis Is Still a Crisis

With former Vice President Joe Biden leading in the polls and Democratic control of the Senate possible, the United States may soon have the chance, for the first time in more than a decade, to enact urgently needed legislation to address global climate change—but only if Democrats don’t repeat the mistakes they made at the start of the Obama administration.

In June 2009, the House of Representatives narrowly passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, a comprehensive bill to stave off the worst effects of climate change. The landmark legislation died in the United States Senate, however, even though President Barack Obama supported climate action and Democrats controlled the Senate with a filibuster-proof majority. Other major issues took precedence: securing