President’s plans involving climate change

President Biden has put forth an ambitious climate change plan, including doing away with the Keystone Pipeline. He is tying this plan into his economic plan, looking to create jobs in this industry. Peter Schlosser, Vice president and Vice Provost Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University, is one of the world’s leading earth scientists and we discussed President Biden’s ambitious climate policies.

Schlosser and Biden see climate change as a major threat. He gives examples like wildfires and death related to heat. Schlosser said we see this  Global problem happen every day “in our backyard.” We talked about the president’s plan to decarbonize by 23rd power US power sector by 2035. We asked if it should and can be done. Schlosser thinks it should be done because if we don’t then the planet will continue to heat up into a very dangerous place. He said we are already seeing that.  A big driver of climate change is how we supply energy to our growing population Schlosser said. We have done that by burning fossil fuels which creates carbon dioxide that is emitted into the atmosphere. He thinks we need to transition because the energy system and decarbonization is a big part of climate change.

We also talked about the 60-day pause that Biden wants on new oil drilling permits on federal land. We talked about Biden‘s plan for the keystone pipeline and the construction he would like delayed. We asked Schlosser if this will make a difference. He said they are part of changing the energy system and moving away from fossil fuels. A major concern from critics is the jobs that will be lost. We discussed with Schlosser if there will be new jobs to fill their place. He said there will be huge industries that will bring jobs. One example of new jobs that are coming is jobs related to taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere Schlosser said.

We also talk about the Paris climate agreement. Schlosser talked about his thoughts and what rejoining the agreement means to other countries, as well as the United States. Schlosser is optimistic about the science and technology there is to get help with climate change but is less optimistic about the willingness of the decision-makers and people.