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