Biden is still not doing nearly enough about the climate crisis | Steven Donziger

The president is trying to appeal to climate-conscious young voters and appease the fossil fuel industry. It won't work

Just before announcing that he would again run for president, Joe Biden signed off on what on the surface looks like a great move to help address the climate crisis: an executive order that creates an office of environmental justice in the White House. Environmental justice," the president said from the Rose Garden, will be the mission of the entire government, woven directly into how we work with state, local, tribal and territorial governments."

That is a beautiful sentiment. And sentiment, when coupled with substantive policy positions, can lead the country forward. The idea of a White House office that can help mobilize an all-of-government response to the climate crisis could be a force multiplier in the fight to save the planet. But to be effective it needs real presidential leadership that involves the creation of a bold and realistic plan to phase out fossil fuels along a strict timeline.

Steven Donziger is a human rights and environmental lawyer, a Guardian US columnist, and the creator of the Substack newsletter Donziger on Justice