Opinion | Biden’s Climate Plans Are Unsustainable

In the field of environmentalism, one of the most important concepts is “sustainability.” Coined in the 1970s, the term means that the resource-intensive needs of economic growth now mustn’t compromise the needs of future generations. Over decades, slow but steady progress has been made on sustainability in such areas as fishing, forestry, farming and, more recently, curbing carbon pollution from fossil fuels.

Ironically, the greatest threat to this progress—particularly in the critical realm of climate—comes not from such emerging mega-emitters as China and India, although they certainly play a role. It comes from the energy and climate initiatives promoted by the Biden White House, which are themselves unsustainable—so aggressive and unduly optimistic that they risk a backlash that would set back the cause of environmental sustainability for generations. To avert this, the administration must shift to a more pragmatic set of policies. Encouraging more natural-gas production and a moon-shot approach to fusion energy would embolden America to lead the world toward a green future.