Abby Smith on The Washington Examiner writes that Bush’s former EPA chief believes Biden will return the agency to what it looked like prior to the pre-Trump era. “Biden’s agenda to curb emissions and other pollution will immediately help win favor with EPA staff who have been sidelined during the Trump administration, Whitman said. Biden...

“The National Park Service could economize by following the lead of other agencies and contracting out more services and activities. More than 1,000 Forest Service campgrounds and recreation areas are operated by private concessionaires who perform routine maintenance, collect fees, and return a portion of their receipts to the agency."

Democrats still won the Latino vote by a margin of nearly two to one nationally, but the surprising level of support for Republicans poses a challenge for the Democratic Party’s most ambitious legislative proposals, including how they intend to tackle climate change.

Michael Catanzaro of the Center for Strategic and International Studies highlights the many ways in which Biden can decarbonize the energy sector. “Short of a CES, Biden could pursue increased federal spending on R&D, an area that seems most politically promising. Over the last two years, several bipartisan bills have been introduced on advanced nuclear,...

Dan Gearino of InsideClimate News writes that Arizona’s net-zero plan unites Republicans and Democrats. “With a 4 to 1 vote last week, the Arizona Corporation Commission approved a plan requiring regulated utilities in the state to move to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050. The plan includes interim targets of 50 percent carbon-free energy by...

“Legislation introduced on Nov. 17 by a bipartisan group of senators on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) will seek to strengthen the nuclear fuel supply chain, help incentivize commercial deployment of new reactor designs, and create a credit program to preserve existing nuclear reactors at risk of premature shutdown.”

“President Xi Jinping promised in September that China would bring climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions to a peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality 30 years later, committing the country to an accelerated transition to renewable energy.”

By wanting to bar appointees with ties to fossil fuels, activists are putting politics over environmental progress.

“Amid the visions of new federal initiatives, it will be important to remember that the quickest and most cost-effective way to make rapid progress will be to support the states that have been carrying the clean energy banner in recent years. Fortunately, some of the ways to provide that support will not require congressional action or may be palatable to a Congress in which the Republicans retain considerable power.”