In a speech on July 14, 2020, presidential candidate Joe Biden outlined his climate plan which seeks to invest nearly $2 trillion to boost renewable energy and rebuild infrastructure with the goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.[1] [2] The plan is the second piece of Biden’s new economic agenda (called "Build Back Better") which he first detailed on July 9, 2020.[3] Biden has described the plan as a “one-time” opportunity to reestablish the U.S. as an economic and political leader.

The plan calls for major investments in infrastructure, the auto-industry, transit, buildings, the power sector, housing, innovation, agriculture and conservation, and environmental justice. These investments would include electrifying government-owned vehicle fleets, creating a nationwide network of 500,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, building 1.5 million energy efficient homes, retrofitting 4 million buildings, and decarbonizing electrical generation. Biden’s plan also emphasizes the importance keeping existing carbon-free energy provided by nuclear and hydropower while investing in new technologies like renewable hydrogen and advanced nuclear. According to Biden, the sweeping investments proposed in his plan would spur millions of jobs and would end carbon-based electrical generation by 2035.

[1] https://joebiden.com/clean-energy/

[2] https://www.npr.org/2020/07/14/890814007/biden-outlines-2-trillion-climate-plan

[3] https://joebiden.com/build-back-better/