Biden Touts Climate Agenda in Amazon Visit

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Facts

  • Pres. Joe Biden on Sunday became the first sitting US president to visit the Amazon, as he landed in Manaus, Brazil, and took a helicopter tour of a wildlife refuge and several sites indicative of climate change's effects on the region.[1]
  • Biden, who then headed for the Group of 20 nations summit in Rio de Janeiro, signed a proclamation establishing Nov. 17 as International Conservation Day this year and in years ahead.[1]
  • Biden also touted the US' increase in climate finance from $1.5B at the start of his term to its current level of $11B. He announced a $50M contribution to the Amazon Fund and other initiatives, many of which are part of the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) he signed in 2022.[2]
  • The Amazon, which has about the same area as Australia, has been depleted by years of development, diminishing its ability to store much of the world's carbon dioxide — a role that would aid the world's fight against climate change.[3]
  • In a speech, Biden said the world doesn't have to 'choose between the environment and the economy.' With Pres.-elect Donald Trump apparently in mind, Biden also declared 'nobody' will be able to reverse the US' 'clean energy revolution' and he's leaving a 'strong foundation to build on' for his successor.[4]
  • Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, campaigned on a promise to roll back much of Biden's climate agenda and to boost US oil and natural gas production while getting rid of many energy-related regulations.[5]

Sources: [1]New York Times, [2]CBS, [3]Associated Press, [4]CNN and [5]Reuters.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by Axios and Voice of America. The fight against climate change is the greatest challenge of our time. Under Biden, the US has been doing more than its part, and the president has set up future presidents to succeed in this realm. Despite what Pres.-elect Trump promised his supporters while out on the stump, he should have a change of heart and keep the US at the forefront of this fight.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by FoxNews.com. The US' exorbitant spending on climate change is nothing to brag about. While Americans have been struggling with a sputtering economy, Biden has devoted far too much of the country's resources to climate change, which may or may not even be a problem. Trump will have to reverse pretty much all his predecessor's policies as part of restoring the US as an economic power.

Predictions