January 16, 2025
3 read me
Biden warns that “powerful forces” threaten climate action
In his farewell address, President Biden warned that a powerful “oligarchy” could undo four years of progress on climate policy.
President Joe Biden speaks from the Oval Office of the White House as he delivers his farewell address on Wednesday.
Mandel Big – Pool/Getty Images
KLIMAWIRE | President Joe Biden used the first half of his 17-minute farewell speech Wednesday night to tout his accomplishments over the past four years, highlighting infrastructure and climate legislation that created new jobs across the country.
Then it got dark.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Biden warned that a powerful “oligarchy” threatens US democracy and is working to curtail and destroy its climate policy. He said climate change is one of the most pressing threats facing the country and was concerned about the fate of his landmark climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act. The law included nearly $400 billion in clean energy spending — which President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to roll back.
About supporting science journalism
If you like this article, please consider supporting our award-winning journalism subscribe. By purchasing a subscription, you’re helping to ensure a future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas that shape our world.
“We’ve proven that we don’t have to choose between protecting the environment and growing the economy, we’re doing both,” Biden said. “Powerful forces seek to use unchecked influence to undo the steps we have taken to address the climate crisis, to serve their own interests for power and profit.”
Biden never directly nominated Trump. But he blamed a fog of misinformation for misleading the American people. He said the free press was being “rolled over”. Social media credentials have been deleted, he said, referring to the tech giant The latest prediction of the meta that he would no longer use fact-checkers.
“I am equally concerned about the rise of a technology industrial complex that could pose real dangers to our country,” Biden said. “Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, allowing abuse of power.”
Biden’s address made it clear that he is concerned that his climate legacy is under threat. He oversaw the most aggressive climate plan in U.S. history, and some of its effects, including the push for clean energy manufacturing and electric vehicles, will likely survive the Trump administration.
But Biden’s climate efforts will also now face four years of frontal assault. Trump wants to repeal or weaken the Anti-Inflation Act as much as possible, and will begin targeting fossil fuel regulations with a series of executive orders as soon as he takes office.
The president who called climate change an “existential threat” is gone. Sitting across the table at Resolute will be a president who commands “dig, baby, dig.”
Trump has promised to end government subsidies for electric vehicles. Now he will transform a White House determined to increase fossil fuel production as quickly as possible so that all federal agencies take climate change into account.
And while Biden increased the number of federal employees focused on climate change, carbon emissions reductions and environmental justice, Trump’s incoming Cabinet officials have promised to purge them.
In the final moments of his Oval Office speech, just days after nearly half a century in public office, Biden ended with a glimmer of hope.
“After 50 years of public service, I give you my word, I still believe in the idea of this nation, where the strengths of our institutions and the character of our people should matter and endure,” he said. “Now it’s your turn to stand guard.”
Reprinted E&E News Courtesy of POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environmental professionals.
