This is an ad from a 2008 climate awareness campaign featuring US senators and nemeses Nancy
Pelosi and Newt Gingrich. Pelosi, the current Democratic Speaker of the House, and Gingrich,
a former speaker of the house for republicans, sat down on a couch in front of the halls of congress
and claimed that although they “don’t always see eye-to-eye” they did “agree that our country must
take action to address climate change.” In the midst of the crushing political gridlock of the
time, two power brokers of American politics found some consensus on climate change. But,
this consensus on climate change and environmentalism across the political spectrum
isn’t new. From Nixon, to Bush, to Clinton, the US has often painted itself as leaders in the
quest to address environmental destruction. And yet, despite impassioned speeches from political
figureheads and some consensus across 50 years, the US has few results to show for it. Instead,
the US has propped up fossil fuel giants, watered down global climate agreements, and
failed to pass any ambitious climate legislation that adequately addresses the scope of the crisis.
And yet, we are seeing more of this same idealization of American climate leadership with
the Biden administration: “The United States is not only back at the table, but hopefully leading
by the power of our example.” But of course, the country’s historic and current actions
tell a different story. Here’s why the US never was and never will be a climate leader.
This video was made possible by the people who support me on Patreon.
Get early access to all my videos by becoming an OCC Patron
A Brief History of How The US Failed To Act:
After four years of outright denial and war on climate action during the Trump presidency,
some hoped that Biden’s inauguration might provide at least some much-needed relief and momentum
for the climate justice movement. But for anyone paying attention to the federal government's track
record on climate change over the 34 last years since climate scientist James Hansen laid out the
threat we faced in the halls of Capitol building, they might have realized that there is very little
chance of Biden sharply cutting emissions by 57% by 2030– the only choice the US has if it is to
do its part in staying within 1.5°C of warming. Ever since the industrial revolution, the United
States has been the king of fossil fuel emissions. But it wasn’t until the mid-1970s that governing
bodies really started to do anything about climate change. Under the Nixon administration
the Environmental Protection Agency and a slew of environmental protection acts were established
to crack down on flagrant pollution. But unfortunately that momentum was quickly lost under
the neoliberal backlash of the Reagan Era. The EPA was stripped of authority and defunded, and
polluters were left unenforced under the banner of deregulation. It wasn’t until the Clinton
administration, under the strong recommendations by climate scientists, that White House committed
the country to lowering greenhouse gas emissions to 1990s levels by 2000. Just a quick look at the
numbers reveals how deeply Clinton’s initiative failed. Again and again, Congress and the White
House have attempted to pass climate legislation, from the 2003 cap and trade climate stewardship
act to the American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009, and most every time they’ve
been stuffed or watered down to the point of ineffectiveness. And now in 2022, almost two
years into Biden’s presidency, there is still little to show in terms of US climate action.
How the US continues to fail:
Again and again, Biden has called for urgent climate action.
He’s certainly taken more steps than his predecessor, but his administration seems
to be talking the talk a lot more than walking the walk. If Biden wanted to, there are a lot of
executive actions his office could take right now that would quickly signal an end to fossil fuels.
Biden has the power to halt new oil pipeline projects, end all fossil fuel leases on federal
lands, and reinstate the crude oil export ban. In short, the White House can hamstring the fossil
fuel industry right now and at least set the US on the path towards rapid emissions reductions,
but, Biden seems reluctant to take those actions. That is because America is still beholden to the
profits of fossil fuel giants like ExxonMobil. As director of the Energy Justice Program, Jean Su,
notes in an article from The New Republic, “The supposed leader of the free world is still an oil
and gas president.” Executive actions like Biden’s new lightbulb efficiency standards just nibble at
the edges of the much larger problem. The fossil fuel industry. Indeed, these kinds of small wins,
while important, distract from the crucial work of ending fossil fuel emissions. America
will never fully decarbonize by switching to efficient lightbulbs, only a complete dismantling
of our fossil fuel infrastructure will achieve that. Outside the White House, Republican and
Democrat stonewalling has made that pretty much impossible. The Democrat’s big ticket climate bill
is treading water, and is being made even less ambitious as Democrats like Joe Manchin, who one
ExxonMobil lobbyist called the kingmaker of their stalling operations, hollow out the bill to the
point of ineffectiveness. This kind of partisan compromise has led to the watered-down, recently
passed infrastructure package which focuses much more on car-oriented infrastructure than public
transportation and low-carbon transportation options. This complete inability to pass any sort
of climate legislation at scale commensurate to the crisis we face is due in part to the decades
of fossil-fuel-funded climate misinformation and heaps of oil money filling the pockets of American
politicians across the political spectrum. Fossil fuel capitalism has brought prosperity to those in
power, so they have a vested interest to do the bare minimum when it comes to emissions
reductions. Not only has the US failed to become a climate leader within its borders, but it
now exports its failures across the world, all the while claiming to be its savior.
How the US exported its failures abroad:
The self-identified leader of the free world is doing anything but leading when it comes to global
climate actions. From propping up neoliberal regimes that hamstring public safety nets
and climate resiliency programs to destabilizing whole countries through decades of war, the United
States has been a formidable obstacle to climate justice. And on the climate diplomacy side,
with each Conference of Parties, also known as COP, the United States, along with its
fellow countries in the imperial core, refuse to acknowledge the emissions and climate debt
they owe to the imperial periphery. From COP 15 in Copenhagen that fell apart when the US refused to
accept Bolivia and other Global South country’s cries for climate reparations, to the most
recent COP26 talks where one anonymous negotiator characterized the U.S. stance on funding climate
loss and damage in the imperial periphery as an “immovable object,” the US has been a constant
thorn in the side of countries like Bolivia and Tuvalu who demand that rich countries like the US
repay the emissions debt they've accumulated over the last three centuries. In addition, it’s
hard for the US to be a climate leader when it continues to not act. From flip flopping back and
forth on the Paris agreement depending on who sits in the oval office, to its continued failure to
pass comprehensive climate legislation, the US’s urging of other countries, especially countries
in the periphery that the US has plundered for centuries, to reject fossil fuels and embrace
renewables are hypocritical. As Eric Levitz puts it in an article for Intelligencer, “If rich
countries do not treat warming as a serious issue, they cannot expect poor ones to do so either.”
How We Change:
The US only represents 13% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Its failure to act doesn't
spell the end, and that gives me hope. The world can and should move on without us to address
climate change. If the ruling class politicians lining the halls of congress and the White House
have their way, it seems that the US will continue to fail on climate action. Which
means that we need to work towards two movements. First, an anti-imperialist, anti-fossil-fuel,
anti-capitalist climate revolution must seize the US. This means implementing strong agrarian,
transportation, healthcare, and economic measures that foreground climate action, the end of all
systems of oppression, and the wellbeing of people living both inside and outside the borders of
the United States. These domestic actions must be coupled with the funneling of the massive profits
that have been gained through centuries of plunder of the Global South, back into their hands as a
form of climate reparations. But while we in the US build the power necessary to make that happen,
the second movement must also take root: a parallel leftist climate revolution in peripheral
countries. In all likelihood, a climate revolution will happen first in the imperial periphery and
spread into the core. So it is countries like Bolivia, like the communist regions of the
Philippines that are the true climate vanguards. Those of us in the imperial core need to do all we
can to bring about the end of imperial power and look to our comrades in the imperial periphery
for leadership if we are to liberate both ourselves and the planet from destruction.
Unfortunately, videos like these, while very important, do terribly with the YouTube algorithm
and sponsors don’t want to touch them. But there is a way you can help. Becoming a patreon member
helps Our Changing Climate stay afloat and independent. As an OCC patron, you’ll not gain
early access to videos, but also special behind the scenes updates, and a members only discord
channel. In addition, each month my supporters vote on an environmental group that I then
donate a portion of my monthly revenue to. Patreon supporters are the financial backbone
of the Our Changing Climate operation, without them I wouldn’t be able to take creative risks and
dive into difficult topics. So if you want to help keep this channel alive or are feeling generous,
head over to patreon.com/ourchangingclimate or use the link in the description
and become an OCC patron. If you’re not interested or aren’t financially able,
then no worries! You can help by subscribing, liking the video,
and commenting. I hope you enjoyed the video, and I’ll see you in two weeks!