Biden announces modest climate actions; pledges more to come

President Joe Biden greets people after speaking about climate change and clean energy at Brayton Power Station, Wednesday, July 20, 2022, in Somerset, Mass. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry is at right. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced modest new steps to combat climate change and promised more robust action to come, saying, “This is an emergency and I will look at it that way.”

The president stopped short, though, of declaring a formal climate emergency, which Democrats and environmental groups have been seeking after an influential Democratic senator quashed hopes for sweeping legislation to address global warming. Biden hinted such a step could be coming.

“Let me be clear,” Biden said. “Climate change is an emergency, and in the coming weeks I’m going to use the power I have as president to turn these words into formal, official government actions through the appropriate proclamations, executive orders and regulatory power that a president possesses.”