'He's A Threat To The Globe': Coal-Loving Joe Manchin Faces Planet-Wide Backlash

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is facing global backlash for his repeated efforts to block legislation that would help combat the climate crisis.

While it's no secret that the centrist lawmaker has become an outcast within the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, he is now facing international criticism from climate advocacy groups around the world, according to The Guardian. Saleemul Huq, director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh, recently slammed the lawmaker describing him as "a threat to the globe."

“He’s a villain, he’s a threat to the globe,” said Huq. “If you talk to the average citizen in Dhaka, they will know who Joe Manchin is. The level of knowledge of American politics here is absolutely amazing, we know about the filibuster and the Senate and so on.

“What the Americans do or don’t do on climate will impact the world and it’s incredible that this one coal lobbyist is holding things up. It will cause very bad consequences for us in Bangladesh, unfortunately," Huq added.

Tina Stege, who works as a climate representative for the Marshall Islands, a Pacific area that faces the danger of being destroyed in the event of a climate disaster, is urging the United States to take "immediate action."

“I’ve been following the situation closely,” said Stege. “We have to halve emissions in this decade and can’t do it without strong, immediate action by the US.”

Some of the United States' closest allies have also expressed concern as Manchin continues to stall the passing of critical legislation. In Canada, Catherine McKenna, an environmental minister for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, explained how they have watched the political battle unfold from afar in hopes that lawmakers can strike a deal in the near future.

"Biden has done a fair bit in very challenging circumstances [but] in Canada we look on with bewilderment because it’s such a different political context. It’s very bizarre,” said McKenna, who served in Trudeau’s government when it introduced carbon pricing in 2019. “Politics is hard but I don’t think anyone has given up. We just really hope they are able to get a deal.”

Despite the calls for action, Manchin is still pushing back against proposed legislation to stave off the impacts of climate change.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet