Summary: Analysts believe that any slowdown in the mining industry will be offset by Biden's climate agenda. The plan, with investment of up to $2 trillion, would be a major boost to domestic production of metals needed for electric vehicles, solar panels and green technologies.
According to Mining.com, Biden was sworn in as US President on Wednesday afternoon local time. Just one week earlier, Trump supporters, refusing to accept the election defeat, launched a deadly attack on Capitol Hill.
In his inaugural address, Biden called for unity and conveyed an optimistic message, saying Americans can work together to get through this "darkest moment."
Canadians, however, are not in such a good mood. Reports over the past two days indicated that Biden would issue an executive order to cancel TC Energy's Keystone XL pipeline project.
Later that day, President Biden announced a decision on the matter. In addition, Biden is expected to restore a number of aggressive environmental regulations that were implemented during the Obama administration but later overturned by the Trump administration.
Analysts believe that any slowdown impact on the mining industry will be offset by Biden's climate plan. With investment reaching $2 trillion, the plan would be highly beneficial for domestic production of metals needed for electric vehicles, solar panels and green technologies.
Biden has said he supports bipartisan efforts to expand domestic production of lithium, copper, rare earths, nickel and other strategic metals, all of which are highly dependent on foreign supplies.
Environmentalists hope the new administration will address obstacles such as mining on public lands, water conservation and clean energy. Some want to extend mining bans, such as prohibiting new uranium mining permits in the Grand Canyon area for 20 years.
The ban was enacted in 2012 and expires in 2032, but some activists hope to invoke the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act to permanently prohibit uranium mining.
The bill has passed the House of Representatives but was stalled in the Senate in early 2020.
Rejoining the Paris Agreement is also on the agenda. Janet Redman, director of the US climate program at Greenpeace, said, "Biden will not hesitate to take this action on his first day in office." "But if the world can achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, then the US has an even greater responsibility to go further and faster."
Redman added that phasing out fossil fuels and starting the transition to renewable energy is the best option for the US to avoid "climate chaos" and find new economic growth opportunities in the process.
The Keystone XL pipeline would transport 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas, USA. The project, with an investment of up to $8 billion, has been built intermittently.
Biden's decision to cancel the project will affect the new administration's relations with Canada, where the oil industry has suffered heavily over the past two years.
There has been a string of energy giant divestments and major project cancellations, including the $20 billion Frontier oil sands project canceled by Teck Resources.
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau said this week he would continue to push for the pipeline project.
At a press conference in front of his home at Rideau Cottage on Tuesday, Trudeau said, "We hope the new US leadership will hear and consider our government's voice."
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said canceling the project would reduce jobs in both countries and damage bilateral relations. He believes it will affect US national security and increase US dependence on imported crude oil.
"If the new US administration cancels the Keystone XL pipeline permit, Alberta will work with TC Energy to protect its interest in the project through all legal means."
Christopher Sands, director of the Canada Institute at the Wilson Center, believes that Canada's oil and gas industry will benefit from the change in US leadership.
In an interview last November, he said Biden had promised to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline construction permit, not the operating permit. But construction on the pipeline had already begun last year, with Alberta's initial investment reaching $1.1 billion.
"The part of the pipeline that crosses the US-Canada border, which is the only part requiring a presidential permit, has already been built. So I don't think there is a threat," Sands said.