Biden touts climate accomplishments

Vice President Biden used a Monday speech to outline his accomplishments on fighting climate change, going back nearly three decades.

Biden repeatedly thanked business leaders assembled at the White House for their commitments to cut greenhouse gases.

{mosads}But the vice president, who could announce any day whether he will run for president, detailed extensively his work both in the Senate and in the Obama administration on climate.

His boasting could prove essential if he goes up against Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the leaders of the Democratic presidential field, who have pledged to go beyond what President Obama has done to reduce the use of fossil fuels, increase renewable energy and help communities adapt to climate change, among other policies.

“The administration’s Climate Action Plan outlines how we can go about curbing pollution, ushering in a clean energy economy, making sure we lead the world, and we have to lead the world, in tackling the most consequential issue of our time,” Biden said. “That’s why we hosted this summit, to show that, as we head to Paris, we are really close to a historic deal.”

Biden boasted about his role overseeing implementation of the 2009 Recovery Act, which included $90 billion for clean energy.

“It was destined to be an absolute failure, because everybody knew that the government can’t administer an almost $1 trillion program and spend $1 trillion in 18 months and make it work,” he said. “But the interesting thing is, every outside and inside study shows less than 0.2 percent of the $832 billion spent resulted in waste or fraud.”

He highlighted the administration’s other clean energy work, which has resulted in dramatic increases in solar and wind power installations.

“We’ve increased electric generation from solar energy 20 fold. It’s now the fastest-growing electricity source, enough to provide clean and reliable electricity for 4.6 million American homes,” he said. “That’s not nearly enough, but it’s a hell of a lot more than we would be getting.”

Biden spoke extensively about the need to take care of people, communities and industries that could be hurt by the fight against climate change, such as coal-dependent areas.

“There’s a whole group of hard-working, decent, honorable people who’ve built an entire culture for the last 150 years around coal,” he said. “It’s not just a salary, it’s not just a coal mine. It’s how you get married, how you get buried, what your social mores are, what churches you go to.”

He brought up his native Scranton, Pa., as an example of a formerly coal-dependent community.

“Those of my liberal friends who just dismiss this notion that, ‘well, it’s just the way transitions occur,’ there are people who get hurt,” Biden said. “There will be industries that get hurt, and it matters, and we have an obligation to help them transition.”

Biden also took subtle steps that could differentiate him from Clinton — with her fraught relationships with Republicans — and Sanders — who has been criticized for a platform that’s seen as attacking the rich.

“I don’t consider Republicans enemies. They’re friends,” he said, a likely reference to Clinton listing Republicans in response to a debate question about which enemies she was proud to have.

On the rich, he said, “I’m not one of these guys, ‘let’s go after the rich and the powerful and they’re the problem.’ They’re not a problem. But everybody has to do their part, man.”