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President Biden and White House officials announced new moves Wednesday to help protect communities from extreme heat and spur offshore wind projects and promised that more executive efforts are coming soon.

Why it matters: The White House is looking to show that Biden's climate agenda remains intact even though major clean energy investment legislation appears close to dead on Capitol Hill.


The big picture: "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," Biden said in a speech in Somerset, Massachusetts that referenced ongoing U.S. heatwaves and other climate-related harms.

  • He said that "Congress is not acting as it should."
  • "This is an emergency and I will look at it that way... In the coming days, my administration will announce the executive actions we have developed to combat this emergency," Biden added.
  • Biden spoke at the site of a shuttered coal-fired power plant that's slated to become a manufacturing site for subsea cables used for offshore wind power.
  • The setting is aimed at emphasizing the economic benefits of transitioning from fossil fuels to climate-friendly energy sources.

Driving the news: The White House announced $2.3 billion via FEMA to help communities prepare for heat waves, wildfires, drought and other extremes worsened by climate change, White House aides say....

  • Other moves will include new federal guidance that helps the longstanding Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) better address cooling needs — via more AC units purchase and delivery, community cooling centers and more — in addition to heating costs.
  • A senior

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