“This is a code red”: The US president on the severity of the climate crisis

Ravaging bushfires, devastating floods and relentless hurricanes – America has seen it all and the president says it’s here to stay.

US President Joe Biden is calling on Americans to acknowledge the reality of climate change following the devastation of Hurricane Ida which ravaged the New Orleans coast late August.

In an address to flag the dangers of the unfolding global climate emergency, Biden urges Americans to understand that “climate change is here”.

It comes after the Biden administration travelled to New York and New Jersey for a second time to assess the situation following the storm.

The president also renewed his economic agenda and met with leaders to discuss recovery efforts.

Dozens of people lost their lives following the force of Hurricane Ida, with roads, homes and public transportation networks crippled.

The Biden administration has used this latest weather event to flag the impacts climate change is already having and argue in favour of the investments being delivered in the infrastructure package.

The White House also pushes Congress to approve $10 billion in supplementary funding to help with Hurricane Ida recovery efforts.

It’s not just wild storms

Biden also noted that the occurrence of wildfires, hurricanes and floods were also growing in commonality, with a likelihood of hitting every part of the Unites States.

More than 100 million Americans suffered the devastation caused from the summer’s deadly fire season, with the winter months also likely to show no mercy as storms grow progressively worse

“Folks, we got to listen to the scientists and the economists and the national security experts,” President Biden says.

“They all tell us this is code red. The nation and the world are in peril. That’s not hyperbole. That is a fact.”

The fight to curb climate change played a key role in the president’s campaign for the top role.

The Biden plan promised a 100 percent clean energy economy net-zero emissions target by 2050 while standing up to the power by polluters who harm low-income communities and people of colour.

But until these plans are well underway, Biden says climate change is here to stay with no time to wait.

Written by Rebecca Borg