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President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team is relying on the help of a top official who spearheaded a program financed by billionaire activist Michael Bloomberg to take environmental legal actions against the Trump administration and oil and natural gas companies by placing and paying the salaries of lawyers inside state attorneys general offices.

The leadership of key committees on Capitol Hill is about to change. The faces on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the House Natural Resources Committee, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee will look different in 2021. On the Republican side, retirements have left openings while appointments to the Biden cabinet may shake up Democratic leadership on committees handling public lands, energy, and the implementation of the Green New Deal.

The mainstream media’s projection that Joe Biden would win the race for the White House prompted the former vice president to claim a climate mandate from voters wanting bold action on energy and environmental issues. Delivering his victory speech in Wilmington, Del., Biden listed several issues that dominated the campaign including the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, systemic racism, and also climate. He announced the outcome of the election has “given us a mandate for action.”

Former Vice President Joe appears poised to secure the needed Electoral College votes to win the White House, which will immediately put the spotlight on his agenda for next year, including energy issues and development on public lands.

Days before the presidential election, reporters say climate change may be a deciding issue among voters across the country. In a webinar on Wednesday, the Society of Environmental Journalists discussed the arc of the 2020 campaign and how they see a shift in the public’s view of environmental issues.

Former Vice President Joe Biden made waves in the final presidential debate last week when he declared that his climate plan would include a transition away from the oil industry in the United States.

At the final presidential debate on Thursday night, climate change is on the short list of expected topics—and the question could put Democratic nominee Joe Biden in a tough spot. The 2020 campaign season has been dominated by pressure from the party’s left wing for anti-development policies like a national fracking ban but taking back the Senate will require picking up seats in the West, where voters are supportive energy production.