Biden to tout climate policy in visit to baking US southwest

President Joe Biden is set to begin a series of visits Monday touting his climate agenda in the southwestern United States, which has suffered a blistering summer of record-breaking heat.

The first stop on his tour will be to the Grand Canyon in Arizona where, according to several US media outlets, he is likely to name a new national monument.

The declaration would effectively prevent uranium mining in the area, a ban sought for decades by local Native American tribes.

Biden, who is running for re-election, plans to use the trip to "highlight how his administration has made historic investments in climate, conservation, and clean energy," according to the White House.

He will also spend Tuesday in Arizona, before traveling the next day to neighboring New Mexico.

Both states and the surrounding region have experienced severe heat waves this summer, with Arizona's capital Phoenix in July recording the hottest month ever for a US city.

Scientists warn that global warming is making heat waves hotter, longer and more frequent.

The multi-state trip comes just ahead of the one-year anniversary of Biden's signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, a mammoth package of climate investments and other programs that has become the centerpiece of his first term in office.

Biden regularly describes climate change as an "existential threat," and criticizes his Republican opponents for failure to act on the issue.

Besides addressing the summer heat crisis, Biden's visit to Arizona also comes with its electoral incentives.

The 80-year-old Democrat narrowly won Arizona in 2020, and it is among the handful of states expected to be decisive in determining next year's presidential election.

On Thursday, Biden is expected to travel to Utah where the focus will be on veterans' programs.