Disappointed by Climate Speech, Activists Say People Are Dying ‘While Biden Dithers’

Climate campaigners expressed frustration Wednesday after U.S. President Joe Biden announced new climate actions but refused to declare a national emergency, despite mounting public and political pressure.

“Biden’s failure to declare a state of emergency today is an insult to the millions of working people and frontline communities living the devastating reality of global heating, environmental racism, and climate breakdown,” said People’s Action climate justice organizer Ben Ishibashi.

The administration, he argued, “must do more than rattle off talking points about things the federal government is already doing or offer Band-Aid-level measures.”

Speaking at a shuttered coal plant in Massachusetts Wednesday afternoon, Biden said that “I come here today with a message: As president, I have a responsibility to act with urgency and resolve when our nation faces clear and present danger. And that’s what climate change is about. It is literally, not figuratively, a clear and present danger.”

Biden outlined his actions to protect communities from extreme heat and dangerous climate impacts, lower cooling costs, and expand offshore wind.

“We welcome Biden’s executive actions to boost wind energy production and help low-income families keep cool, but this week’s apocalyptic heatwaves make it clear that these steps are overdue and way too small,” said Ishibashi, calling for “bold, decisive action” that prioritizes people over corporate profits.

The organizer’s criticism and demand for more were echoed by other activists—including the Center for Biological Diversity’s Jean Su, who said that “the world’s burning up from California to Croatia, and right now Biden’s fighting fire with the trickle from a garden hose.”

Biden, during his speech, recognized that “Congress is not acting as it should” and “this is an emergency.”

Originally published at Commondreams.org.