What Would Happen if Climate Change is Declared a National Emergency?
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Why is Biden being pressured to declare climate change as a national emergency, and would it really curb emissions or natural disasters?
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What is the Democrats’ Position on Global Warming?
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Democrats, also more commonly known as the “blue party” – are known to be open minded, embed the values of younger generations, and to provide for Americans on a personal level (such as fighting to have same-sex marriage and striving to promote diversity in the workplace).
One of the many agendas of Democrats is to rectify the current climate legislation due to global warming becoming more of a global issue by the day, but do Democrats oversee other key issues?
👉 How do Democrats view global warming, what kind of climate change policies do they seek to pass and establish, and how do they create new climate legislation with climate change in mind?
What are Democrats?
Democrats are one of the two main political parties in the United States, with Republicans serving as the other main party.
👉 Did you know that of the 46 presidents elected and who held office in the United States, only 16 of them have been Democrats?
“ Democrats, which is the political party developed during Andrew Jackson’s presidency, is known for being accepting and open-minded while placing a strong emphasis on providing equal opportunities for all Americans despite their race, sexuality, religion, or national origin. Democrats are often looking to protect immigrants in the U.S. and will be supportive of pro-choice, and as a result – Democrats often lead in creating government-funded social programs that will seek to help these minorities. In short, Democrats look to create equality and implement socialist values where they see fit in order to achieve their key value of equal rights and opportunities for all. ”
Think of Democrats as parents trying to keep in the loop with what’s popular amongst their kids, as Democrats are often open-minded and liberal – and are flexible to adjust their political endeavors to the times as necessary.
Ultimately, Democrats are known to be open-minded and flexible to adapt to the values presented in society’s current situations – but some may argue that this level of adaptivity means that other areas that need attention throughout the country are left behind in the process when Democrats curate new political policies or climate legislation.
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How do Democrats approach climate change?
As a whole, Democrats are widely concerned about climate change and closely follow science to remain informed about the ongoing development of global warming – especially as the IPCC issued in their most recent report that much of climate change has been aggravated by excessive human activity – such as mass production and increased levels of use in unsustainable transportation.
In fact, addressing climate change is a pivotal topic in many agendas for those who identify with the Democratic party. This is because Democrats hold tight to the belief that climate change presents a threat to society, the economy, and the future health of Americans. In addition to this, Democrats view the transition to the use of clean energy and a clean economy as an opportunity to only help the environment out of peril, but to curate new job opportunities for Americans as well to help stimulate the economy and ensure people are brought above the poverty line.
👉 Democrats approach global warming as a win-win situation, where they view rectifying the current situation with climate change as an opportunity to amend other key areas such as by creating new jobs and ensuring that all people are provided with equal opportunities amidst the climate change crisis – such as by making sure everyone has access to adequate health care given climate change continues to impact the health of many Americans.
Climate change is ultimately viewed by Democrats as one of, if not the most, pivotal topic to be addressed across the United States – and in recent years, Democrats have made sure to make rectifying climate change the priority they believe it should be.
What are some examples of Democrats’ perspective on climate change through real-life examples?
Especially in the past year, there are multiple examples of climate legislation that depict Democrats’ viewpoint on global warming. For instance, the new California climate legislation will allocate $54 billion towards areas like curating cleaner public transportation, electric cars, and preventing wildfires.
“ In addition to this, California (a state predominantly made up of Democrats) is adamant on reducing emissions, as they will ban the purchase of gasoline powered cars starting in 2035. ”
Another example of Democrats’ perspective on climate change is the New York State Climate Action Council Scoping Plan, which will act as an investment program to help fund sustainable projects to help shift the state of New York towards a greener economy and overall lifestyle. For example, the scoping plan will work to reduce the emissions created by electricity usage in New York without raising New Yorker’s utility bills.
The New York State Climate Action Council Scoping Plan will act in a similar way to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, as it will encourage New Yorkers to support the transition to a clean energy economy and will still protect them financially.
That leads us to the biggest representation on Democrats’ position on global warming, and that Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 – more commonly known as the climate bill. This bill passed last year allocated a massive $369 billion dollars towards incentivizing the transition to the use of renewable energy by allowing Americans to be granted with a tax reduction if they choose to implement energy efficient appliances, install solar panels in their homes, or purchase electric cars.
In what ways can Democrats' position on climate change be bad?
Democrats place a high importance on improving the measures of climate change, but the problem with that is that doing so has the chance to oversee the needs of the economy.
“ Ultimately, Democrats act to play the long-game – and even if a climate change endeavor may take a hit to the economy in the short-term, Democrats usually seek to ensure that it will benefit the economy in the long-run seeing as Democrats value the transition towards a clean energy economy. ”
In addition to this, the climate legislation being implemented in full-force by Democrats could also cause implications for others, despite the fact that Democrats act within the public's best interest.
For example, while it’ll be great for the environment that California will ban the purchase of gasoline powered cars from 2035 onwards – it may prove to be a predicament for those who reside in the state, as California is not well-developed in terms of sustainable public transportation and many rely on cars to get where they need to go.
Students, especially – will be unable to afford electric cars and will still resort to purchasing used gasoline powered cars. It isn’t unreasonable to transition from the use of vehicles that emit excessive amounts of carbon dioxide, but Democrats should also seek to provide other sustainable alternatives for transportation as these future regulations are coming into effect.
Many of the government-funded programs currently being passed, implemented, or in development are also garnered towards rectifying climate change. As a result, many of the efforts on behalf of Democrats to improve the negative effects of climate change have meant that other areas have been lacking the funding they usually might receive. For instance, several of the new funds to improve sustainable transport across cities in the U.S. might have otherwise been allotted for funding in the education system across the country – especially seeing as prices for higher education continue to skyrocket and leave many students in debt.
The importance that Democrats place on improving the predicaments caused by climate change could sometimes overshadow other areas that need to be addressed.
Are Democrats too climate forward?
To some, Democrats may be going above and beyond in implementing climate legislation – but given the current ongoing predicament with climate change, it’s becoming more necessary to implement these stringent measures to ensure that climate change doesn’t become worse than it already is.
Climate change isn’t just impacting the United States on an economic level, but it is impacting other industries that many do not realize global warming has the potential to take a toll on – such as the insurance and healthcare industry.
If Democrats are to stop cranking out the climate legislation they are at the current rate and level of rigor, climate change could continue to negatively affect these industries, the economy, and the health of Americans.
Another real-life example of why Democrats are so worried about climate change is the Great Salt Lake: which is drying up and not only depleting the available water for the seven states surrounding the Great Salt Lake – but it is emitting toxic chemicals into the air and compromising the health of residents surrounding the lake.
Ultimately, seeing as one of the primary values of Democrats is to provide equal opportunity and safety for all Americans – it makes sense that Democrats see climate change as the root to answer their morals in question.
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How do Democrats’ and Republicans’ perspectives on global warming differ?
The viewpoint on climate change between Republicans and Democrats is likely to vary or present wide discrepancies. This is because in general, Democrats are known to be more concerned about climate change than Republicans are.
“ In fact, as of 2021 – only 42% of Republicans viewed climate change as a priority, whereas 85% of Democrats believe that climate change is imperative amongst congress and the president. ”
👉 Overall, Democrats feel that climate change is an existential problem that is already having an impact on the daily lives of many, and refer to science in order to curate new climate change legislation and reform – whereas most Republicans, especially those older, are more likely to prioritize economic opportunities for the United States than to establish legislation or regulation solely at reducing emissions or protecting the planet.
In what ways should Democrats’ seek to improve their position on climate change?
Democrats clearly place a big importance on global warming, but the problem with that is that the other half of Americans are often left unsatisfied with Democrats’ seeming lack of desire to stimulate the country’s economy, as well.
Therefore, when drafting new climate legislation, Democrats should remain aware of the economic impact that their environmental regulations could have on society and the country’s economic system as well. The good news is that much of the recent climate action plans that have been released have made sure to demonstrate their potential to improve the economy as well as reduce emissions and promote sustainability.
Ultimately, the Democrat's perspective on global warming and seeking to reduce emissions and implement the use of clean energy could also give Republicans exactly what they want – a more stimulated economy. It’s just all about how Democrats decide to package and promote those new pieces of climate legislation to appeal to everyone – and how to monitor carbon emissions produced, without sacrificing the potential success of the economy.
What about Greenly?
If reading this article about the Democrats’ position on global warming has made you interested in reducing your carbon emissions to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!
There are several pieces of legislation that Republicans and Democrats have disagreed on when it comes to environmental policies. Check out our legislation tracker here to see which rules your company has to adhere to.
Greenly can help you make an environmental change for the better, starting with a carbon footprint assessment to know how much carbon emissions your company produces.
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