What Biden Can Do After Declaring a Climate Emergency: QuickTake

Democrats and environmental activists are pushing President Joe Biden to declare a “climate emergency” and unlock sweeping powers to combat global warming after broad legislation stalled in Congress.

Biden has already vowed to “take strong executive action” if Congress doesn’t “tackle the climate crisis.” And White House officials are now weighing the possibility of an emergency declaration that would empower the president to curtail oil drilling, curb fossil-fuel flows and fund clean-energy construction.

1. How would it work?

An emergency declaration by Biden would trigger powers laid out by a suite of federal laws — including energy statutes, the National Emergencies Act ...