October 31, (THEWILL) – President Joe Biden has arrived in Europe ahead of next week’s key UN climate summit, with his signature climate policy yet to pass through the US Congress.
The president’s $1.75 trillion (£1.2tn) Build Back Better social welfare package includes more than $500bn of spending on green policies. Before leaving Washington, Mr Biden described the measures as historic.
But differences among Democrats mean it is unlikely to pass before the summit. “It’s a framework that will create millions of jobs, grow the economy, invest in our nation and our people, and turn the climate crisis into an opportunity.” Mr. Biden said in a TV address from the White House.
The president heads for the COP26 global climate summit in Scotland on Sunday, but his first stop was the Vatican where he met the Pope after arriving in the early hours of Friday. Mr. Biden thanked the pontiff for his advocacy for the world’s poor and those suffering from hunger and persecution. He also praised the Pope’s leadership on climate change.
Mr. Biden will also attend the G20 summit of major economies in Rome. His Build Back Better legislation covers a wide range of extra funding for health and child care, education and clean energy reforms.
Green spending would seek to dramatically slash US greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, provide new tax breaks for electric vehicles and roll out installation of solar panels on American homes.
The president had hoped to have the package passed in time for COP26 which begins in Glasgow on Monday. The package is linked in Congress to a separate infrastructure bill worth $1.2tn.
The bill has passed through the evenly split Senate, but some left-wing Democrats want changes to Build Back Better before agreeing to pass the infrastructure legislation through the House of Representatives and say both bills must be voted on at the same time. Mr. Biden’s fellow Democrats abandoned plans for a vote on Thursday.
The president implored Democrats during a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill to support his legislative plans, saying he wanted to prove that US democracy still works.
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