- Trump said he plans to veto the stimulus bill, which includes $35 billion in funding for clean energy projects and plans to cut the use of planet-warming chemicals.
- The environmental measures attached to the Covid-19 relief bill mark the first significant climate change legislation to pass in the U.S. in about a decade.
- The broader legislation includes tax credits for solar and wind power, which would push forward Biden’s plan to have a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035.
Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s opposition to a $900 billion coronavirus aid package overwhelmingly passed by U.S. lawmakers late Monday jeopardizes the first significant climate change legislation to win congressional approval in about a decade.
Trump has threatened to veto the stimulus bill, which includes $600 direct checks for individuals and $35 billion in funding for clean energy projects and plans to cut the use of planet-warming chemicals.
The climate provisions included in the deal comes after the Trump administration dismantled more than 80 major environmental rules over four years and shortly before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office.
Biden plans to rejoin the Paris climate agreement and use executive orders to unravel many of Trump’s environmental rollbacks. He’s also pushing for a $2 trillion plan, which will need congressional approval, to shift the country from fossil fuels to clean energy and green jobs. Trump officially withdrew the country from the Paris accord in November.
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