On July 14, while unveiling his $2 trillion climate plan, Joe Biden declared, “there’s no more consequential challenge that we must meet in the next decade than the onrushing climate crisis. Left unchecked, it is literally an existential threat to the health of our planet and to our very survival.”

Yes, Joe Biden has embraced climate change hysteria wholesale.

According to Joe’s Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice, “Today, he is outlining a bold plan -- a Clean Energy Revolution -- to address this grave threat and lead the world in addressing the climate emergency.”

Biden’s bluster has no bounds. According to his plan, “From coastal towns to rural farms to urban centers, climate change poses an existential threat -- not just to our environment, but to our health, our communities, our national security, and our economic well-being. It also damages our communities with storms that wreak havoc on our towns and cities and our homes and schools. It puts our national security at risk by leading to regional instability that will require U.S military-supported relief activities and could make areas more vulnerable to terrorist activities.”

Apparently, Biden believes climate change poses a more urgent and dire threat to the survival of humanity than an emboldened China, a nuclear-armed Iran, a deranged dictator with an arsenal of nuclear weapons in North Korea, or a resurgent Russia. As Joe Biden loves to say, “c’mon, man.”

And here is where the rubber meets the proverbial road. “Biden believes the Green New Deal is a crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face. It powerfully captures two basic truths, which are at the core of his plan: (1) the United States urgently needs to embrace greater ambition on an epic scale to meet the scope of this challenge, and (2) our environment and our economy are completely and totally connected.”

Did Biden just endorse the monstrosity known as the Green New Deal? You bet.

In fact, as his plan lay out in intricate detail, Biden is all-in on the Green New Deal. “As president, Biden will lead the world to address the climate emergency and lead through the power of example, by ensuring the U.S. achieves a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050.” That is quite an ambitious agenda.

So, how would Biden accomplish this monumental feat? By implementing his five-part plan that will:

“Ensure the U.S. achieves a 100% clean energy economy and reaches net-zero emissions no later than 2050. On day one, Biden will sign a series of new executive orders with unprecedented reach that go well beyond the Obama-Biden Administration platform and put us on the right track. And, he will demand that Congress enacts legislation in the first year of his presidency that: 1) establishes an enforcement mechanism that includes milestone targets no later than the end of his first term in 2025, 2) makes a historic investment in clean energy and climate research and innovation, 3) incentivizes the rapid deployment of clean energy innovations across the economy, especially in communities most impacted by climate change.”

In other words, Biden will double-down on crony capitalism and enrich his political friends and allies with massive taxpayer-funded “investments” to magically make green energy feasible and affordable. 

“Build a stronger, more resilient nation. On day one, Biden will make smart infrastructure investments to rebuild the nation and to ensure that our buildings, water, transportation, and energy infrastructure can withstand the impacts of climate change.  Every dollar spent toward rebuilding our roads, bridges, buildings, the electric grid, and our water infrastructure will be used to prevent, reduce, and withstand a changing climate. As President, Biden will use the convening power of government to boost climate resilience efforts by developing regional climate resilience plans, in partnership with local universities and national labs, for local access to the most relevant science, data, information, tools, and training.”

By this, Biden means he will blow billions on unnecessary “green” infrastructure projects while brainwashing millions into believing that climate change is the boogeyman. 

“Rally the rest of the world to meet the threat of climate change. Climate change is a global challenge that requires decisive action from every country around the world. Joe Biden knows how to stand with America’s allies, stand up to adversaries, and level with any world leader about what must be done. He will not only recommit the United States to the Paris Agreement on climate change -- he will go much further than that. He will lead an effort to get every major country to ramp up the ambition of their domestic climate targets. He will make sure those commitments are transparent and enforceable and stop countries from cheating by using America’s economic leverage and power of example. He will fully integrate climate change into our foreign policy and national security strategies, as well as our approach to trade.”

Translation: Biden will shackle America to a ridiculous and unenforceable treaty that will undermine the U.S. economy. And he will grovel to dictators and world leaders -- nothing new there.

“Stand up to the abuse of power by polluters who disproportionately harm communities of color and low-income communities. Vulnerable communities are disproportionately impacted by the climate emergency and pollution. The Biden Administration will take action against fossil fuel companies and other polluters who put profit over people and knowingly harm our environment and poison our communities’ air, land, and water, or conceal information regarding potential environmental and health risks. The Biden plan will ensure that communities across the country from Flint, Michigan to Harlan, Kentucky to the New Hampshire Seacoast have access to clean, safe drinking water. And he’ll make sure the development of solutions is an inclusive, community-driven process.”

Reading between the lines, Biden is basically saying that he will implement social justice via a convoluted and nonsensical attack on the energy industry.

“Fulfill our obligation to workers and communities who powered our industrial revolution and subsequent decades of economic growth. This is support they’ve earned for fueling our country’s industrial revolution and decades of economic growth. We’re not going to leave any workers or communities behind.”

This is amusing. So, Biden will eliminate hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs throughout the energy industry but somehow these workers and communities will be hunky dory in the end. Again, “c’mon man.”

The bottom line is Biden’s energy plan is a lose-lose proposition for America and the rest of the world. Over the past few years, the United States has achieved energy independence. Biden would undo that on day one. Worse, he would make America’s energy grid unreliable. And his plan would drive the cost of energy through the roof. It will also make America less secure and pile on more debt.

In short, Biden’s climate plan is as corrupt and senseless as the man it is named after.

Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is an editor at The Heartland Institute.