This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Joe Biden said recently, among other incorrect statements, that he's "already" declared a national emergency over climate change.

Then he explained that that was done "practically," not officially.

But the concept of Joe Biden giving unrestricted orders about the economy, people's lives and more is causing a high level of concern.

He would be "basically declaring himself a dictator" for environmentalism, explained H. Sterling Burnett, a senior fellow at the Heartland Institute with a focus on climate issues.

He told Just the News, "It gives him tremendous powers, that whole range of authority to dictate things in the economy and people's actions."

He continued, "We saw him say, he’d done it… [or] virtually did it. Well, virtually isn't doing it, but that doesn't mean he won't do it in the future because he is talking about it."

It was just days ago that Biden said in an interview his administration "already" had declared that emergency, and even CNN noted that was "incorrect."

Burnett told the publication there's been a "constant drumbeat from environmentalists in the progressive wing of the party to do this."

But the loud noises actually come from only a few people, and they are extremists.

"The people really pushing for a climate emergency are the fringe in the party. Everyone thinks that people want them to do something big about climate change, but poll after poll shows" Americans aren't up to making sacrifices for the ideology, he said.

The report said in 2019 a poll showed one-third of voters were unwilling to spend any of their own money fighting climate change. Another 15% would spend only $10 a month.

This year, Pew Research said 54% of U.S. adults call climate change a major threat to the country’s well-being, but that actually was lower than in 2020.

The report noted a warning from Tim Steward of the U.S. Oil and Gas Association, who said, "If you grant the president's emergency powers to declare a climate emergency, it's just like COVID."

It would allow "vast and unchecked authority to shut down everything from communications to infrastructure."

Just the News reported that could include ending oil exports and offshore oil and gas leasing and speeding up the "green transition."

The report said even the "left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice" warned such powers "provide a ready mechanism for undermining democracy and entrenching political power."