And then there was one.
On April 8th, Senator Bernie Sanders suspended his presidential campaign, leaving former Vice President Joe Biden as the only Democratic candidate still in the race. While many voters are prepared to ‘vote blue no matter who,’ voters under the age of 35 are proving slow to jump on the Biden train.
The day after Sanders dropped out of the race, seven youth-led progressive groups penned a letter to Biden explaining how he can “earn the support of our generation.” The activists demanded action on issues of climate change, gun violence prevention, healthcare, and more. They also recommended personnel and administration appointees. Ultimately, the letter emphasizes the need for bold ideas, not just anti-Trump rhetoric, to win over the new generation of voters.
Sunrise Movement, a youth-led organization that champions the Green New Deal, is one of the contributors to the letter. Their climate concerns echo those of the youth majority. According to a Gallup poll, 70% of potential voters under the age of 35 are “worried a great deal/fair amount” about climate change. Sunrise is mobilizing these voters.
Can Biden meet the expectations for these young climate policy progressives? He says he can, but his past environmental record is cause for hesitation.
Biden’s legislative track record is long and contradictory. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1972 and served in that position until 2009, when he was inaugurated as President Obama’s Vice President. As a Senator, Biden voted on over 400 pieces of environmental-related legislation, according to the League of Conservation Voters. LCV reviewed these and gave Biden a ‘lifetime score’ of 83%. That put Biden well above most Republican senators, but only about average for Democrats.
One notable piece of legislation Biden pushed was the Global Climate Protection Act of 1986. The first of its kind, this act proposed a Task Force to research and develop a national strategy on global climate. During this time, scientists were still coming to a consensus on the existence of climate change, putting Biden’s legislative initiative ahead of the curve. Although this bill was ignored by the Reagan administration, it does show that Biden’s concern about the climate dates back decades.
The decades that Biden spent as a Senator could pose an issue, though. While he generally took pro-environment stances on legislation relating to climate change, Biden also voted against raising fuel efficiency standards in 1999, 2003, and 2005. He also missed voting on the Climate Security Act in 2008, which would have set pollution reduction goals and diversified America’s clean energy supply. These inconsistencies are not going to be Biden’s downfall, but they do raise questions about his priorities.
Biden’s time during the Obama administration is important to highlight as well. During President Obama’s first term, Biden oversaw investments into the clean energy sector under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Due to a Republican majority in Congress, the administration failed to pass many progressive pieces of legislation, limiting Biden’s involvement in climate policy. In their second term, the Obama administration shifted strategy to pass more progressive legislation through administrative avenues.
The Paris Climate Accord was the focus of President Obama’s second term in office. Vice President Biden’s involvement in the process is often disputed. He claims he was a key player in securing China’s cooperation leading up to negotiations, but it was confirmed that he was not present for these talks.
Much of Biden’s campaign leans on his role in the Obama administration, but a “return to normal” is not going to satisfy many young progressive voters. In their first term, the Obama administration pushed an “All of the Above” energy strategy that ramped up natural gas production, in addition to clean energy sources. Biden supports natural gas to the present day, stating that he would not ban fracking. His continued support for fracking incenses many environmentalists.
Biden’s current climate plan is a light version of the Green New Deal. Instead of reaching net-zero emissions by 2030, Biden aims for 2050. He promises to “build a more resilient nation” by investing in rebuilding infrastructure with climate impacts in mind. While his plan emphasizes economic growth and job opportunities, it does not promise the Green New Deal’s ‘job guarantee.’ Biden also promises to recommit the United States to the Paris Agreement. The plan is estimated to cost $1.6 trillion, which will be paid through reversing President Trump’s tax cuts for corporations. This is a fraction of the projected costs of the Green New Deal.
Biden’s middle-of-the-road approach is meant to appeal to both environmentalists and working-class voters who supported Trump.” While voters over 45 years old are largely on-board with Biden’s strategy, younger environmentalists want more. The Sunrise Movement is pushing Biden to adopt the Green New Deal in its entirety. This includes the 2030 carbon neutrality deadline along with tangentially related progressive policies like universal healthcare, free college, and a job guarantee. To many, the omission of these social policies in Biden’s climate plan is sign that his environmental platform is not bold enough to successfully tackle the climate crisis or move the nation toward a new normal.
Climate change exemplifies young people’s dissatisfaction with status-quo politics. Biden’s platform, climate-related and otherwise, is rooted in the policies of the Obama administration. For young voters, this is not enough, and Biden should listen. While a lack of youth turnout in primaries may have helped Biden win over Sanders, that same turnout will be essential to beating Trump in the general election. Many progressive voters have made it clear that they will not automatically vote Democrat in the general election. They are spelling out what it will take to earn their vote, and Biden should listen.