Biden's Climate Response Budget Blocked by Congress... Carbon Neutrality Faces 'Dark Clouds'

International Community "Doubts US Commitment"
China Mocks Biden with "Isiljukchi"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Cho Young-shin, Reporter Kim Su-hwan] U.S. President Joe Biden has declared his intention to take the lead in rallying global commitment to address climate change at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). However, within the United States, analyses suggest that Biden’s climate leadership is being shaken as the related budget proposal submitted by his administration faces political backlash.

On the 1st (local time), the White House presented specific climate change response goals to coincide with the opening ceremony of the COP26 special summit held in Glasgow, UK.

That day, the White House reaffirmed its existing plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% from 2005 levels by 2030. The White House’s presentation of this goal in line with the COP26 opening is interpreted as a demonstration of the Biden administration’s will to unite the international community in tackling climate change.

However, the $555 billion (approximately 653 trillion KRW) budget proposal submitted to Congress to implement this blueprint has encountered opposition not only from the opposition party but also from moderate members within the ruling party, causing setbacks to the Biden administration’s aggressive climate response plans.

Moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin opposed the $1.75 trillion social spending bill, which includes the climate response budget, demanding cuts. On the day, Senator Manchin said, "There are concerns about inflation and the rapid increase in government debt," adding, "A complete analysis is needed to fully understand the total cost."

As the passage of the climate response budget proposal in Congress becomes uncertain even domestically, international skepticism toward the Biden administration is growing. Eric Peika, head of the NGO Friends of the Earth, pointed out, "The U.S. talks a lot about climate change, but nothing has actually been implemented."

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping left a Chinese four-character idiom seemingly mocking the U.S. political situation in his written speech at COP26.

President Xi said, "To combat climate change, all parties must take stronger joint action," and mentioned ‘Isiljeukchi (以實則治).’ This means that governing a country well comes from actual action. It implies that politics by words is not proper politics, and politics by action is the right politics.

This remark appears to target the fact that President Biden, while officially apologizing for former President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, has yet to pass even the domestic budget proposal.

However, the Chinese government, the world’s largest carbon emitter, has also announced carbon reduction plans that fall short of expectations. Foreign media report that there are concerns the COP26 talks may fail to produce clear outcomes.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.