Stymied by Congress, Biden Feels Heat to Act on Climate While Activists Hold Out for More ($)

Following stalled Congressional bills on climate action, activists have implored President Biden to announce a state of climate emergency. However, establishing an official state of emergency while a chance remains that rewritten legislation might still pass this year would have been a risk, Nicholas Institute senior fellow Elizabeth Losos told USA Today.

"Legislation would clearly be preferable," she said. "An emergency declaration is going to face legal challenges, which will slow it down. And our current Supreme Court has certainly signaled they're going to look at such things suspiciously."

During a July 20 press conference in Massachusetts, Biden stated his intention to use presidential authority to issue a series of formal government actions through proclamations, executive orders, and regulatory power.