President Biden and former President Trump are worlds apart on climate policy. But do voters know it?

Polls show that most Americans don’t know that Biden signed into law the biggest climate law in U.S. history. And many may not remember that Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, the world’s most important climate treaty, and rolled back more than a hundred policies to protect the environment.

The consequences of November’s election will be momentous: The news service Carbon Brief estimated that a Trump victory could result in more than 4 billion tons of additional U.S. emissions by 2030.

Tonight, Biden will have the chance to highlight those contrasts when he addresses Congress in the annual State of the Union speech. I asked my colleague Lisa Friedman, who covers climate policy and politics, for a preview.

Manuela: What will the speech say about Biden’s climate policies?

Lisa: The economy is doing well, but voters don’t seem to be giving the president credit for it. The influx of migrants across the United States southern border is a major political headache and left-wing Democrats are furious about Biden’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza. But, when it comes to climate, administration officials believe he has had a historic first term, and they’re eager for the president to tell that story.

It’s not clear how much real estate climate change will get in Biden’s speech. Typically his climate messages are wrapped into his economic vision. Last year, for example, the president’s first mention of the phrase “climate change” was linked to a promise to cut energy costs for families by giving tax credits to weatherize homes and boost wind and solar development.