On February 4, President Joseph Biden held a press conference at the U.S. Department of State with Secretary of State Tony Blinken. This speech, one of the only to focus specifically on foreign policy so far, can provide us with insight into the major challenges and issues that Biden is hoping to confront during his term. It is rare for an American president to come into office and be unable to focus on many of their campaign promises right out of the gate, especially in regards to foreign policy. President Biden entered office at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this has consumed the majority of his attention during his first two months in office, rightfully so. This is not to say that Biden and his administration have not completed any major policy goals during their first months; Biden brought the United States back into the Paris Climate Agreement, rescinded the Mexico City Policy, and restored funding to the U.N. Population Fund. However, the circumstances of the administration’s first two months in power present the unique opportunity to still speculate about what Biden’s foreign policy agenda will look like for the remainder of his term.

The last administration left the United States even further away from global organizations and issues than when it began, destroying bridges that Biden needs to work to rebuild. Biden should focus on global public health, human rights, and the climate crisis if he seeks to differentiate himself from his predecessor and convince other nations that the United States is worthy of their support and cooperation. 

The global landscape is always changing and the ways that America interacts with other countries on a global stage is changing along with it. As described by the World Health Organization (WHO), “there has been a shift away from official development assistance, towards a new paradigm – development cooperation effectiveness. The objective of development cooperation is to not foster dependence on donor-to-recipient aid, but instead to focus on national ownership, partners acting together, and alignment with national plans and priorities.” By linking U.S. plans and projects with those of other nations, we can not only create partnerships that benefit all involved, but we can also show the world that America is changing course away from the imperialist era.

The most important crisis for Biden to take on is that of global public health. With COVID-19 still infecting hundreds of thousands of people every day, health has been the key focus of the Biden administration so far. However, to ensure that we are better prepared for the next global pandemic, more must be done to build global health infrastructure and fund it. The brightest spot on the horizon is the fact that Biden has halted all plans to withdraw from the WHO. Additionally, Dr. Anthony Fauci announced on January 21 that the United States would be joining COVAX, a growing global consortium of nations with the specific aim of vaccinating lower-income and underserved communities around the globe. Biden has raised the U.S. contribution to the fund to roughly $4 billion USD.

To ensure that COVID-19 is kept under control, it is vital for Biden to keep his focus on the most vulnerable communities both in the United States and worldwide. To do so, the administration must honor its financial and support commitments to global health organizations, lead the rebuilding of our health infrastructure following the COVID-19 pandemic, and invest further in both public and private research on pandemic prevention.

While the COVID-19 pandemic may be commanding the majority of media and governmental attention as the Biden administration begins its term, human rights crises are occurring all around the world. If Biden hopes to clearly differentiate himself from his predecessor, taking a strong and definite stance on human rights abuses and crises is a perfect way to do so. In yet another reversal of the previous administration’s policy, Blinken announced on February 8 that the United States would be rejoining the United Nations Human Rights Council and championed the idea of U.S. leadership in human rights. While it is absolutely important that the United States has a role in major multi-national organizations and councils, the work cannot begin and end with the Human Rights Council.

The United Nations is so often caught in stalemates between members of the Security Council, making actual action and intervention all the rarer. The same should be expected with the membership of the Human Rights Council, as the Philippines remains on the council until the end of this year, Brazil will hold a seat until 2022, and both China and Russia will be representatives until 2023. While every country has problems with their human rights record, especially the United States, the aforementioned countries have all been the setting for notable decline in human rights over the last few years. This means that the actions of the Council will unfortunately always be shadowed by a level of hypocrisy because of the nations holding the reigns. Therefore, the United States should focus on two strategies for the next several years. The first strategy is a willingness to condemn human rights violations both domestically and internationally regardless of the perpetrator. This is necessary because America is often viewed as hypocritical when condemning human rights issues in countries such as China and Russia because of our own domestic problems and our reluctance to condemn abuses in Israel and other key allies. The second strategy is to not focus all of the country’s resources and energy on one organization or council. If the U.N. Human Rights Council is gridlocked because of one or two countries, Biden should be willing to push the issue further or adjust course and use America’s role in another multinational organization to provide aid and support where needed.

Last but not least, Biden should focus on climate change with a global mindset. The addition of former Secretary of State John Kerry as the first-ever Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change is a good start, as increased leadership and resources are needed to research, prevent, and combat climate change. The choice in Kerry for this role is interesting due to his foreign policy background, and it signals that Biden is willing to look at climate change from a global perspective. Biden needs to champion legislation that will fund clean energy and impose measures to attempt to end the United States’ reliance on fossil fuels sooner rather than later. According to the National Wildlife Foundation, the United States spends roughly $1 billion USD a day on foreign oil that is becoming increasingly toxic to the planet. Imagine if that amount of money, as well as the billions of dollars in subsidies given to fossil fuel providers each year, were to be invested into climate research and clean energy production instead. If we are meant to be a nation of science in regards to public health, we must also listen to our scientists in regards to climate change as well and craft climate policy with strict deadlines and regulations.

In a February report published by Morgan Stanley, coal is estimated to be phased out of the American energy system in favor of renewable energy by 2033. Currently, Biden plans to make the United States carbon neutral by 2050, with the power sector meeting neutrality by 2035. With this in mind, now is the time to focus on creating job programs for current fossil fuel industry workers, ensuring that we meet the suggested dates on time, and placing stricter regulations on the mining and sale of fossil fuels. It is never a bad thing to reach a goal earlier than anticipated when it comes to climate change.

President Biden has four years to undo the damage to America’s international reputation caused by his predecessor, but it is also important that he realize that America did not have the best reputation even before 2016. The long list of domestic issues facing the United States could fill several articles, but by prioritizing key issues that can foster cooperation amongst the global community, Biden has the opportunity to do far more good than the other presidents of the twenty-first century did.