Biden’s climate rhetoric doesn’t excuse bad policy

Even before his inauguration, President Biden made one thing clear: Addressing climate change would be a priority for his administration. For environmental activists, this was an exciting and refreshing change of pace.

While the Trump administration saw some big wins on conservation, plastic pollution, and energy innovation, it didn’t prioritize climate change. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric was also often unhelpful on clean energy and climate science. Making the leap from a president who barely uttered the words “climate change” to one who has made climate change a top policy priority means that it’s easy to praise Biden for his climate leadership. But we must be careful to separate rhetoric from action and policy.