Greenpeace Backgrounder: Climate, Energy, and Environmental Record of Democratic Vice Presidential Choice Senator Joseph Biden

 Climate Crisis

- Biden is a cosponsor of the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act, which would reduce climate pollution 80 percent by 2050, the level scientists say is necessary to avoid climate catastrophe.
- Biden favors a cap, auction and trade system for greenhouse gases and wants to use the proceeds to support large-scale development of clean energy resources.

Oil

- Biden has supported protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, America's Serengeti.
- Biden has opposed drilling off America's fragile coasts.

Coal

- Biden opposes the construction of new coal-fired power plants that don't capture and store their greenhouse gas emissions.
- Biden has opposed subsidies to coal companies for turning coal into an automotive fuel , an energy-intensive process that would produce up to double the global warming pollution of regular oil . However, he has supported exporting liquid coal to countries like China.

Nuclear

- Biden has opposed increased subsidies for nuclear power , although he believes nuclear could play a role in the future energy supply.
- Biden has recognized some of the safety problems with nuclear energy and has called for tougher oversight of the government's Nuclear Regulatory Commission .

Clean Energy & Efficiency

- Biden is a co-sponsor (with Senator Obama) of the Fuel Economy Reform Act, which would raise fuel efficiency standards to 40 mpg by 2017, reducing greenhouse gases significantly and saving drivers over $1 trillion.
- Biden supports a Clean Energy Standard that would require utilities to produce 20 percent of their electricity from clean sources like wind, solar, and geothermal power by 2020 .

LCV Score
- In 2006, Biden had a lifetime score of 84 from the League of Conservation Voters.

Further Resources
- Grist.org environmental profile and interview of Joe Biden: http://www.grist.org/feature/2007/08/29/biden_factsheet/