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Transcript/ScriptUSAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: HFR YE Biden Environment TV))
HEADLINE: Big Wins and Setbacks in 2023 For Biden’s Green Agenda
TEASER: Biden Administration commits to fighting climate change despite some pushback
PUBLISHED AT: 12/05/2023 at 8:30AM
BYLINE: Veronica Balderas Iglesias
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE:
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR: Veronica Balderas Iglesias
SCRIPT EDITORS: Aru Pande, Steve Baragona, DJ OK
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, AP, Reuters, AFP, NOAA, Skype, USFWS, Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:19
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TV/R
EDITOR NOTES: ((Radio Tracks for Reversioning Included))
((TV INTRO))
[[Injecting billions of dollars into green solutions to fight climate change has been a top priority of the Biden administration in 2023. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias looks at this year’s achievements and setbacks in the president’s environmental agenda.]]
((NARRATOR))
In a year in which greenhouse gas emissions reached record highs
((Mandatory cg: NOAA))
extreme weather events
((end courtesy))
became ever more frequent, the Biden administration focused on implementing two pieces of climate legislation worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
[[RADIO INTRO: Ali Zaidi, White House National Climate Advisor via Skype]]
((Ali Zaidi, White House National Climate Advisor)) - ((Skype))
“Whether it's electric vehicles or solar or offshore wind, or frankly, climate smart agriculture and the production of clean materials like steel and cement, we're seeing a massive job boom.”
But the approval in March of the Willow oil and gas drilling project in Alaska was perceived as a broken promise by those who want a complete halt to fossil fuel development. The administration argued that legally, its hands were tied.
[[RADIO INTRO: Martin Lockman, Associate Research Scholar at Columbia Law School, via Skype]]
((Martin Lockman, Columbia Law School)) - ((Skype))
“This project was actually already approved in a different form in 2018, under the Trump administration, but that was halted by lawsuits and a federal court ultimately required the Bureau of Land Management to redo its environmental impact evaluation. So that was done and the decision kind of fell onto the Biden administration.”
((Mandatory cg: USFWS))
((NARRATOR))
The cancellation in September of seven oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge appeased green economy activists.
((Mandatory cg: Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat))
But it drew strong criticism from Republicans and a few Native American communities wary of changes to the industry they have relied on for years.
[[RADIO INTRO: Nagruk Harcharek is President of the nonprofit corporation Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat]]
((Nagruk Harcharek, Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat)) - ((Skype))
“The North Slope Borough is the largest employer on the North Slope right? They take revenue that they make from the fossil fuel industry, in this case resource development. They reinvest that into the communities, and they also provide employment in those communities. // What options are there for us to replace that baseline economy? // It’s just, ‘kill this industry and then we’ll move on and everyone will be okay.’ Well, it’s a hard pill to swallow.”
((Mandatory cg: Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat))
((NARRATOR))
Those kind of worries at the grassroots level, don’t come as a surprise to the NGO World Resources Institute.
[[RADIO INTRO: Dan Lashof is the organization’s U.S. Director]]
((Dan Lashof, World Resources Institute)) - ((Skype))
“It’s always a challenge when you have an issue of local development and jobs versus environmental impact both local and globally, so you are going to see that kind of debate. // The Biden administration has been doing more to improve the consultation with Native American groups but we have a long way to go.”
((NARRATOR))
The Biden administration told VOA it has programs in place to help communities make the transition to greener livelihoods and it plans to continue implementing its environmental agenda in 2024.
[[RADIO INTRO: White House National Climate Advisor, Ali Zaidi]]
((Ali Zaidi, White House National Climate Advisor)) - ((Skype))
“Keep trying to bring economic opportunity to communities that have suffered environmental injustice. // Building our infrastructure and our economy to compete in the 21st century and do that in a way that recognizes that we’re up against a real crisis.”
((NARRATOR))
In the international arena, although Biden skipped the United Nations
Climate Conference in Dubai, he did secure a pledge this year for renewed climate cooperation with China. The world will be watching if joint actions by those two countries, the biggest greenhouse gas emitters, materialize and bear fruit in 2024.
((Veronica Balderas Iglesias, VOA News, Washington))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateDecember 5, 2023 09:52 EST
BylineVeronica Balderas Iglesias
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English, US Agency for Global Media
