This is undoubtedly the fatal blow to Joe Biden’s climate plan. Rebellious Joe Manchin, a Democratic senator from West Virginia, confirms that he will not sign it, even in its reduced version after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations with his teams and those of the White House.
With our correspondent in Miami, David Thomson
Joe Manchin opposed corporate CO2 emission reductions. The senator also said no to incentives to buy electric vehicles. He also refused public funding aimed at developing solar and wind energy.
It must be said that this elected Democrat, however, made his fortune in fossil fuels. In West Virginia, his family owns several coal plants and Manchin is the senator who has received the most campaign funding from the oil and gas industry.
In December, he had already said no to Joe Biden’s plan, the famous Build Back Better. But with a majority of just one vote in the Senate, his voice is crucial. Sneak talks had been going on for months to negotiate a minimal version dubbed the Build Back Manchin, intended to save face for Joe Biden as the midterm elections approached.
But on Thursday, Manchin announced to his party that he would not sign any climate funding, thus killing this emblematic reform of Joe Biden. His Democratic colleagues do not hide their anger and even their rage as some write on Twitter. Without this plan, it is impossible to achieve the White House’s climate objectives, namely the halving of greenhouse gases by 2030.
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