Climate activists have high hopes for the Biden administration, but they also have high expectations, and say the window for bold action is narrow. 

Mark Dunlea, founder and executive director of the Green Education and Legal Fund of New York, told Capital Tonight that he’s optimistic the new Biden administration will be proactive on climate issues.

"I would say there’s some cause for optimism," he said.

Dunlea says there are two parts to the climate fight. 

"One is building out renewables," Dunlea explained. "That is where President Biden and Majority Leader Schumer have bought in. The second is cutting emissions, and as Governor Andrew Cuomo loves to point out, Germany built a lot of renewables but did not see a big cut in emissions."

Cutting emissions would require a direct challenge to the powerful fossil fuel industry, which has both Republican and Democratic friends in a closely divided U.S. Senate. 

According to Dunlea, this dynamic makes the president’s Executive Actions even more critical.

Among the executive actions already taken by President Biden are signing a declaration that the U.S. is rejoining the Paris Climate Accord, and rescinding the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline.