President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he would use his presidential authority in the coming weeks to address what he called a climate emergency, promising a series of executive actions to fight the impact of global warming after Democrats’ plan to pass sweeping climate legislation fell apart.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he would use his presidential authority in the coming weeks to address what he called a climate emergency
  • Biden spoke at Brayton Point, a former coal plant in Massachusetts that stopped burning coal in 2017 and is going to begin manufacturing offshore wind energy

  • The president promised action over words in the next few weeks, after criticism from Democrats that he hasn’t done enough to combat climate impacts

  • Biden announced funding for communities to combat extreme heat by creating cooling centers and lending air conditioning equipment, plus he highlighted movement toward more wind energy production

Biden spoke at Brayton Point, a former coal plant in Massachusetts that stopped burning coal in 2017 and is going to begin manufacturing offshore wind energy. The president said the plant would use much of the same infrastructure as it did when producing coal energy, and it will employ “as many workers as the old power plant had at its peak.”

The president promised action over words in the next few weeks, after criticism from Democrats that he hasn’t done enough to combat climate impacts and amid calls to declare a national climate emergency. He announced initial efforts on Wednesday to deal with extreme heat and boost wind energy production.

“As president, I have a responsibility to act with urgency and resolve when our nation faces clear and present danger,” he said. 

“And that's what climate change is about. It is literally — not figuratively — a clear and present danger.”

Biden spoke as more than 100 million Americans were under heat warnings across the country on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Europe is facing historic temperatures: Temperatures reached 115 degrees in Portugal as wildfires raged in Spain and France, and Britain on Tuesday shattered its record for highest temperature ever registered.

The president announced $2.3 billion in money for states through a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) resiliency program meant to deal with natural disasters and hazards such as extreme heat. 

And another $385 million will be set aside for lower income families to pay for air conditioning or get AC equipment loaned to them this summer. State and local leaders can also use the funds to create community “cooling centers.”

“I'm going to use the power I have as president to turn these words into formal, official government actions,” Biden said. 

“Our children and grandchildren are counting on us. Not a joke,” he added. “If we don't keep it below 1.5 degrees centigrade, we lose it all. You don't get to turn it around.”

The U.S. and other countries are falling behind on climate goals, according to the Climate Action Tracker.

“If we do not take aggressive action to reduce the pollution that causes climate change — like burning coal, oil, and gasoline and cement manufacturing — we know that the planet would get much hotter, and it'd be much more extreme,” said Brenda Ekwurzel, director of climate science at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

“Today's level of climate change is already too hot to work for many important jobs around the world.”

The president stopped short of officially declaring an emergency this week, but White House officials say it's still on the table.

The White House shift toward executive action ramped up after Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia walked away from climate negotiations with other senators this week, putting congressional action in doubt.

“Congress — notwithstanding the leadership of the men and women that are here today — has failed in its duty,” Biden told the crowd at Brayton Point.

The president on Wednesday also announced actions to boost offshore wind energy manufacturing in more places, including the Gulf of Mexico.

The Interior Department will begin the process of proposing “wind energy areas” off the coasts of Galevston, Texas and Lake Charles, La. The area would cover 700,000 acres, with the potential to power over three million homes with clean energy, according to the White House.

"China is pouring money into clean energy development, and they are the leaders in solar panel. They have a huge wind industry," said Elizabeth Losos, senior fellow at Duke University's Nicholas Institute.

"If we just sit back and look backwards at the industries that we were able to dominate over the last 50 years, we're going to lose out."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.