US presidential candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday said he would spend $2 trillion on clean energy development over his first four years in office if elected in November, a more ambitious plan than he had previously promised.

The proposal sets the goal of a 100% clean-energy power standard by 2035 and aims to create millions of jobs to help the nation recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Previously, Biden called for $1.7 trillion in spending over 10 years and set a zero-emissions target of 2050.

The plan would spur the installation of millions of solar panels and tens of thousands of wind turbines -- including tens of thousands of wind turbines off the US coasts -- in Biden's first four-year term, according to the campaign.

The Biden campaign released the plan as it attempts to mollify the more progressive members of Biden's Democratic party, who have criticised his views on fossil fuels and climate change as being too moderate.

The proposal is also in stark contrast to the current administration of President Donald Trump, a Republican who has supported fossil fuels as the backbone to its "American Energy Dominance" agenda.

Biden's plan would deploy the $2 trillion in funding during his first term in office starting in 2021, and target areas including infrastructure, the auto industry, and transit.

The proposal also intends to achieve carbon-pollution free energy from electricity generation by 2035. Biden, who served as vice president under Trump predecessor Barack Obama, would "scale up" best practices from state-level clean energy standards "which are being implemented in a way that provides renewable credits to developers that follow high labour standards, including through Project Labor and Community Labor Agreements and paying prevailing wages," according to the campaign.

Oil and gas lobbyist the American Petroleum Institute did not praise the plan but noted the desire for a massive amount of infrastructure buildout was one "we all share". API chief executive Mike Sommers said he would continue to work with members of both parties to advance "real solutions" to climate change and protect good-paying union jobs.

"We stand at a crossroads for the nation’s energy future, and the choices policymakers make in 2020 and beyond will determine whether we build on America’s energy progress or shift to foreign energy sources with lower environmental standards," Sommers said.

"You can’t address the risks of climate change without America’s natural gas and oil industry, which continues to lead the world in emissions reductions while delivering affordable, reliable and cleaner energy to all Americans."

Politics

US presidential candidate Biden unveils $2 trillion clean energy plan