President Biden yesterday warned the world's biggest corporations must "pay their fair share" to help tackle the "existential threat" presented by climate change, as he once again showcased his administration's climate strategy as part of his State of the Union address.
Speaking to both sides of Congress yesterday evening, Biden hailed the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as a major achievement that will create jobs and drive investment in US green industries.
"The Inflation Reduction Act is the most significant investment ever to tackle the climate crisis," he said. "Lowering utility bills, creating American jobs, and leading the world to a clean energy future."
He highlighted how the Act, which passed last autumn after lengthy negotiations, was helping to bolster US climate resilience by delivering "new electric grids able to weather the next major storm [and] roads and water systems to withstand the next big flood".
And he stressed how the $375bn package of investments and subsidies was driving the deployment of "clean energy to cut pollution and create jobs in communities too often left behind", as well as building 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations, and "helping families save more than $1,000 a year with tax credits for the purchase of electric vehicles and energy-efficient appliances".
Biden also attempted to reach out to Republican voters who have often opposed more ambitious climate action, arguing that "the climate crisis doesn't care if your state is red or blue".
"It is an existential threat," he added. "We have an obligation to our children and grandchildren to confront it. I'm proud of how America is at last stepping up to the challenge."
However, he also warned much more action was needed to cut emissions and he issued a clear warning to US corporates and billionaires that the White House would continue to pursue tax reforms to help fund the next wave of green infrastructure investments.
"We pay for these investments in our future by finally making the wealthiest and the biggest corporations begin to pay their fair share," he said. "I'm a capitalist. But just pay your fair share… The idea that in 2020, 55 of the biggest companies in America made $40bn in profits and paid zero in federal income taxes? That's simply not fair."
In a speech that was repeatedly interrupted by heckling from his Republican opponents , Biden reiterated his calls for wider tax reforms, including plans for a billionaire minimum tax.
"No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a school teacher or a firefighter," he said.
And he took aim at the oil industry's recent record profits, declaring that they "invested too little of that profit to increase domestic production and keep gas prices down".
"Instead, they used those record profits to buy back their own stock, rewarding their CEOs and shareholders," he said. "Corporations ought to do the right thing. That's why I propose that we quadruple the tax on corporate stock buybacks to encourage long term investments instead. They will still make a considerable profit. [But] let's finish the job and close the loopholes that allow the very wealthy to avoid paying their taxes."
Biden also stressed that "we're still going to need oil and gas for a while", providing one of the few points in the address that elicited a positive reaction from an otherwise hostile Republican audience.
The comments drew criticism from environmental campaigners already angry at the administration's recent decision to move forward with controversial plans to approve an $8bn oil drilling project in Alaska's north slope.
Jeff Ordower, director of environmental charity 350.org, said: "President Biden has made important strides to invest in renewable energy through the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. However, we are not truly living up to real climate solutions if Biden continues to rely on the fossil fuel industry and allow them to pump more oil and gas."
