President Biden spoke from a former coal-fired power plant in Massachusetts about the climate crisis and his executive actions to combat it. This comes following a breakdown in budget negotiations over climate legislation in Congress and during significant heat waves in the U.S. and abroad. Cheddar News takes a look at what the speech means for the future of tackling climate change.

Closing Bell

President Biden on Executive Climate Actions Amid Lack of Progress in Congress 

President biden speaking mayor in Somerset massachusetts about his administration's efforts to tackle climate change as hopes for Congress to take action do fade of course announcing in the coming days, executive orders that will come out of his office in D. C. As well as billions of dollars being spent to help communities as extreme weather and the climate crisis do worsen here in America and really around the world. So I do want to bring in cheddar news is Megan proud to live for us in our D. C. Studio to help add some context here, Megan, some notable words from the president as 100 million americans remain under a heat advisory amid these hot summer temperatures. What is your biggest takeaway from the President's speech? I think it's important kristen to note that the president was standing in Somerset massachusetts right there on the road island massachusetts border and it is real hot up there as well here in D. C. It's about 90 95 degrees. I know it's very hot in new york. It's set to get significantly hotter on the east coast over into the weekend and no, I am not a meteorologist. I am a political journalist. And the reason I'm mentioning this is because I think that it is the appropriate backdrop for the president to have a conversation about climate change now to be very clear whether it's not climate change right? But whether patterns can give us an indication of where the climate is changing and how fast it is changing and how rapidly that change is in contrast with historical trends right, the climate always changes. However, what we are seeing now is with rapidity and with sort of strength is a type of climate change that is clearly caused by human human influence in the environment, right? That is what scientists almost to a scientists agree that this is caused by humans in the environment, and that's what biden is trying to make the point about, right, that this is not something that we need to debate anymore. It's just something that we need to do something about. So, standing on the grounds of a former coal processing power plant in Somerset that closed down about five years ago, he talked about the need to move to cleaner energy. He talked about massachusetts push to wind energy and how that has been going and where that's been successful and where it's been a little bit more complicated. He brought up his predecessor, former President Donald trump who we know, not a huge fan of wind turbines. In fact, it was like a well known kind of conspiracy theory that the former president had that wind turbines were somehow incredibly damaging to the environment, were damaging to uh, to the fauna of a specific area. And also he did not like the way they looked so an interesting sort of aside from the President. But on top of all of this is, yes, okay, I get it, we need to do something, but what do we do? And kristen the President didn't really lay out exactly what to do. He did promise to take action regulatory action, executive action in the way that is given to him as the power of the presidency. He said that. But I think that what he really wants to see is Congress take action and he's hoping that this speech today, the conversation about how incredibly hot it is, which is a great reminder that we're living through the hottest temperatures in history, year after year after year, that he wants Congress to take action. Congress makes the laws, the President executes them. If Congress doesn't make laws, the president can't execute those laws. And then what do we do? I think the president is also really putting his cards all on the table and saying Congress, you act or I will and I think that's the last thing that especially in the Senate, this evenly divided Senate where republicans do plan to regain control after the midterm elections. That's the last thing they want to hear from a Democratic president. Um It is interesting Megan io 2.3 billion announced for investments right in infrastructure to deal with extreme weather. And then 385 million deployed in local communities to get a c into homes and even some cooling centers um in schools offer those who are in summer school right now or even for these hot temperatures as we approach the fall. Megan pratts live in our D. C. Studio. Megan. Thank you as always. We'll check in with Megan next hour as well.