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Young climate activists gathered outside the White House in Washington to protest what they called US President Joe Biden's broken promises, which he failed to fulfill as he succumbed to Republicans in this matter. 

The protesters carried signs reading "Biden, you coward - fight for us" and "No climate, no deal."

Interviews

John Paul Mejia, an 18-year-old student among hundreds who took part in the Sunrise Movement protest, said that "Biden ran with bold promises for action and climate and we turned out for him… we need to have some say in our future and the safety of our communities".

Activists from all over the United States said that the chance of Biden fulfilling his campaign pledges is diminishing due to his negotiations with Republicans.

"We have a Democratic president, we have majority both in the House and the Senate, and it should be a time in which we can get things done, and we really haven't," said Kallan Benson, a 17-year-old activist.

"We have incremental gains but nothing that is really a game changer for us," Benson added.

What it is all about 

Many young activists are critiquing a $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal between Republicans and Democrats. The deal includes half of the funding Biden has originally proposed for electric vehicle (EV) technology, and it does not impose on electricity utilities abiding by clean energy standards.

“The President is absolutely committed to addressing climate,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki told the reporters when asked about the protest.

It is worth noting that following his victory in the elections in November last year, Joe Biden had made a vow on the matter of environmental protection that he will focus more on clean energy and ban the leasing of federal lands for coal and natural gas mining. He had also pledged to decrease methane emissions resulting from oil and gas production, not to mention his plan to establish a division of environmental and climate justice within the Department of Justice, further enhancing law enforcement against polluters.