By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jarrett Renshaw
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A collection of the nation's leading and biggest spending environmental groups endorsed President Joe Biden's re-election bid on Wednesday, an early sign that he has consolidated their support despite some recent policy moves that angered climate activists.
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, billionaire Tom Steyer's NextGen PAC, NRDC Action Fund and the Sierra Club endorsed Biden during an LCV dinner in Washington. This is the first time the four groups have ever jointly announced a presidential endorsement, according to the Biden campaign.
"Together, we've made a lot of progress so far. We have to finish the job," Biden told the crowd climate activists.
He added that the world poses many threats, but climate change "is the only truly existential threat."
While the endorsements are not surprising, they are a sign that the environmental groups are not letting a series of recently disappointing administration decisions on oil drilling in Alaska and backing a gas pipeline in West Virginia to dampen their enthusiasm.
"The stakes could not be more high and the choice could not be more clear," said Eva Hernandez, Managing Director of the Sierra Club.
The groups represent the mainstream part of the environmental movement and tend to reflect older voices. Younger activists, such as the ones that sought to disrupt the annual White House Correspondents Dinner earlier this year, may be less enthusiastic to back Biden.
The four organizations combined represent millions of members and activists in every state across the country who can help mobilize voters in 2024. They also represent big money.
Steyer's NextGen PAC spent $56.7 million in 2020, campaign finance records show.
Biden is traveling to California next week to raise campaign cash from tech and climate donors as he races to raise over a billion dollars for his re-election fight, Reuters reported.