After two years of negotiation, lawmakers have proposed a rule to expedite the permitting process, but Republican opposition threatens to unravel their progress.

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Biden has inadvertently fuelled this backlash by allowing the energy transition to become yet another battle in the culture war between right and left. His defensive stance has only enraged Republican leaders, resulting in their dismissal of clean technologies as a “woke” distraction rather than the cornerstone of a prosperous future.

This dynamic is mirrored across the world. In Australia, for example, the Albanese government has adopted a patchwork approach to trying to please everyone, and ended up pleasing no one. Its inconsistent policy direction hinders the adoption and scaling of clean-tech projects. Meanwhile, its dependence on China is only increasing.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

In March, COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber urged fossil-fuel producers at Texas’ CERAWeek event to leverage their “engineering know-how, capability, talent, technology, and resources” to execute the transition. Al Jaber’s statements underscore what Biden and other leaders are missing: this is not a war against political opposition. It is not a race to the bottom, but a sprint towards new opportunities. And while US politicians continue to bicker, China is pulling ahead.

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We can’t expect Democrats and Republicans to suddenly join hands in harmony, but it is crucial that they recognise their common interests. Values such as freedom, innovation, growth and prosperity are not left or right. They are human.

With November’s vote drawing closer, Biden must ensure that the US is on the right track, regardless of the election outcome. Instead of heightening external tensions, world leaders must focus on building internal consensus and dismantling the bureaucratic barriers shackling their national potential.

Juan Carlos Monterrey Gómez is executive president at Climate Resilient, a climate policy think tank. He previously served as vice chair for the implementation of the UN Climate Convention and advised the World Bank on decarbonisation programs in Panama. At COP26 in Glasgow (2021), he led the youngest climate delegation to represent a country in history at the UN Climate Negotiations. He was also a 2023 finalist for the Pritzker Environmental Genius Award.