Joe Biden highlights climate crisis in State of Union speech, calls it 'existential threat'

The climate crisis doesn't care if you're in a red or blue state. It's an existential threat. We have an obligation not to ourselves but to our children and grandchildren to confront it," Biden said in his State of the Union address.

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday called the climate crisis an "existential threat," noting that while the economy would still rely on oil and gas for the immediate future, he was "proud" America was addressing the challenge.

US Vice President Kamala Harris and US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) listen as US President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Tuesday. (AFP)

"The climate crisis doesn't care if you're in a red or blue state. It's an existential threat. We have an obligation not to ourselves but to our children and grandchildren to confront it," Biden said in his State of the Union address.