The Verge reports:

On Wednesday, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden revealed a revamped climate and energy plan that raises spending, expands efforts to address racial disparities, and sets an earlier deadline for cutting greenhouse gases.

Biden’s plan aims to eliminate carbon pollution from the power sector by 2035. Biden had previously committed to reaching a 100 percent “clean energy economy” by 2050. The plan comes with a $2 trillion price tag over four years, higher than his previous ten-year $1.7 trillion plan. Forty percent of clean energy investments will be earmarked for “disadvantaged communities.”

Biden’s more ambitious climate plans reflect recommendations made by a joint task force that he assembled alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in an effort to win over more progressive voters. Some influential groups like 350 Action and Sunrise Movement initially backed Sanders, who had taken a tougher stance against fossil fuels. Sunrise Movement executive director Varshini Prakash was part of the task force.

“It’s no secret that we’ve been critical of Vice President’s [sic] Biden’s plans and commitments in the past. Today, he’s responded to many of those criticisms,” Prakash said in a statement today.

Alongside his new clean energy plan, Biden rolled out a separate plan to address the disparities that pollution and climate change create. “Any sound energy and environmental policy must advance public health and economic opportunity for all Americans, in rural, urban, and suburban communities, and recognize that communities of color and low-income communities have faced disproportionate harm from climate change and environmental contaminants for decades,” the environmental justice plan says. [Continue reading…]