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President Joe Biden<\/strong> has framed his rematch against Donald Trump<\/strong> as a referendum on democracy<\/a> and abortion rights<\/a>. But November is not just about \u201cfreedom<\/a>.\u201d It is also a \u201cclimate\u201d election, as a number of Biden environmental initiatives hinge on the outcome at an absolutely critical juncture for the planet.<\/p>\n As the Washington Post<\/em> reported<\/a> Thursday, Trump has promised oil executives that he’ll immediately tear down Biden\u2019s green policies if elected again, prevent others from being enacted, and rip up regulations on drilling\u2014all in exchange for a billion dollars of campaign contributions. \u201cYou\u2019ve been waiting on a permit for five years,\u201d the former president told the CEOS at a Mar-a-Lago event last month, as an attendee recounted to the Post<\/em>. \u201cYou\u2019ll get it on Day One.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to his promise to ramp up drilling, Trump also said he would undo the Biden administration\u2019s \u201cridiculous\u201d electric vehicles initiatives, among other clean energy policies. While some oil executives seem to question Trump\u2019s ability to effectively do their bidding\u2014especially with much of his attention focused on beating the felony charges he\u2019s facing in his Manhattan hush money trial\u2014the industry has already been drafting executive orders to lower drilling costs and boost offshore leases that Trump would be able to approve immediately after retaking office, as Politico reported<\/a> this week. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to write exactly what we want, actually spoon feeding the administration,\u201d as one energy company lawyer involved in an executive order on gas exports told the outlet.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be like shooting fish in the barrel,\u201d Stephen Brown<\/strong>, director of the energy consulting firm RBJ Strategies, added of Biden\u2019s regulations. \u201cThere\u2019s just so much to go after.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump’s promises to big oil underscore the degree to which his second administration would be a disaster for the environment: In his first term, Trump rolled back more than a hundred climate initiatives<\/a> by predecessor Barack Obama<\/strong>, including a U.S. withdrawal<\/a> from the Paris Agreement. He has made clear, both in private and in public, that he would pick up where he left off if he returns to power\u2014by being a \u201cdictator\u201d for the first day of his presidency. \u201cWe\u2019re drilling, drilling, drilling,\u201d Trump said<\/a> in December, fantasizing about how he\u2019d use his unchecked power. \u201cAfter that, I\u2019m not a dictator.\u201d<\/p>\n By contrast, Biden\u2019s climate record\u2014imperfect as it may be<\/a>\u2014features the most significant climate bill<\/a> in U.S. history: the Inflation Reduction Act, which he maneuvered through divided Washington in 2022. \u201cIt is not all that we wanted,\u201d progressive Senator Ed Markey<\/strong> said at the time. \u201cBut it was what we need to begin this effort to lead the rest of the world.\u201d The future of that package\u2014which is already paying off<\/a>\u2014and other elements of Biden\u2019s ambitious climate agenda hang in the balance this fall. \u201cDespite the overwhelming devastation in red and blue states, there are still those who deny the climate is in crisis,\u201d Biden said<\/a> in remarks commemorating Earth Day last month. \u201cAnyone in or out of government who willfully denies the impacts of climate change is condemning the American people to a very dangerous future.\u201d<\/p>\n That dangerous future is, in many ways, already here<\/a>\u2014and experts warn that far more \u201cdrastic\u201d action will be needed to ward off even more catastrophic climate change. A Trump win in November wouldn\u2019t only prevent the \u201cmaximum ambition\u201d United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/strong> called for<\/a> at COP28 last year. It would take U.S. policy in the opposite direction. \u201cDonald Trump is selling out working families to Big Oil for campaign checks,\u201d as Biden campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa<\/strong> put it to the Post<\/em> Thursday. \u201cIt\u2019s that simple.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n