One would think that the choice between a president who is attempting to roll back every…

Far-left opposition to Biden and other of the establishment Democrats is the timing of a transition to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions…

One would think that the choice between a president who is attempting to roll back every environmental protection going back to the 1970s versus any of the Democratic nominees for president — now down to 2 — would be the proverbial no-brainer for climate activists. There are, however, signs that the most progressive activists and their organizations, e.g., The Sunrise Movement, may reprise what happened in 2016 and either stay at home on November 8th or vote for Trump in an effort to purge the establishment from the Democratic Party. Although it’s still a bit early to know.

Far-left opposition to Biden and other of the establishment Democrats is the timing of a transition to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy. Many on the far left are committed to 2030. Purity tests can be troubling in this way.

Should Trump win it will be impossible to reach a net-zero target by 2030 or even 2050. Biden as president would, I believe, be open to amending his plan in ways that could reach the net-zero target before 2050. Whether he would do that depends a great deal on who controls Congress.

It will be an interesting election. The colossal mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic by Trump is likely to prove his downfall. I expect that Biden could win under these circumstances with or without the cooperation of socialist democrats.

The other factor to look for in this is how Sanders comes out of the primaries in terms of maintaining his titular leadership of the Green New Deal.

Personally, I think his loss of the nominationwill ends up marginalizing him in the eyes of the left. Representative Ocasio Cortez and other — younger — progressives will fill the void left by a Sanders primary loss.