Joe Manchin leads opposition to Biden’s climate bill, backed by support from oil, gas and coal

West Virginia senator objects to bill that would steadily retire the coal industry which continues to provide ample financial support to him

In the tumult of negotiations over the most consequential climate legislation ever proposed in the US, there is growing scrutiny of the fossil fuel industry connections of the man poised to tear down the core of the bill - the West Virginia senator Joe Manchin.

Manchin, a centrist Democrat, has objected to key provisions of a multitrillion-dollar reconciliation bill that would slash planet-heating emissions and help the US, and the world, to avert catastrophic climate breakdown. In a finely balanced Senate, Democrats need all 50 of their senators to vote for the bill, with no Republicans willing to vote for the climate measures.