President Biden aims to cement the United States’ credibility on climate with a plan to cut emissions at least in half by 2030 below its 2005 levels. The target would require profound changes at home, positioning the country as a global leader on climate action. It’s an aggressive push to combat climate change to persuade other significant economies worldwide to follow suit.
An administration official said:
There is a significant sign that we expect action at this meeting. We’re looking for people to make announcements, to raise their ambition, to indicate next steps that they intend to be taking to help solve the climate problem.
The pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% was made at a virtual climate summit, kicked off by the president himself at the White House. Forty other world leaders attended. The commitment is part of the Paris climate agreement that Biden rejoined as one of his first moves upon taking office.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said:
The Biden-Harris administration will do more than any in history to meet our climate crisis. This is already an all-hands-on-deck effort across our government and our nation. Our future depends on the choices we make today.
However, the ambitious goal is non-binding, and the administration hasn’t divulged a plan on how the country will meet it. According to those briefed on the matter, the administration will likely offer broad strokes at first, not a detailed breakdown. Nevertheless, the new pledge reinforces the profound changes that Biden aims to set in motion, from phasing out gasoline-powered vehicles to decarbonizing the US energy sector.
One thing is clear; the administration sees these efforts as a climate pursuit and a massive investment in a new generation of nationwide jobs.
The senior administration official said:
There is only one playbook that works at this moment, and that playbook is you chase after the economic opportunity that tackling the climate crisis presents, and we’re doing that.
As Biden addressed the summit’s opening, he laid out his vision for a greener economy – one where climate change is taken seriously across all sectors, resulting in more jobs for blue-collar workers.
He said:
That’s where we’re headed as a nation, and that’s what we can do if we take action to build an economy that’s not only more prosperous but healthier, fairer, and cleaner for the entire planet. These steps will set America’s economy to net-zero emissions by no later than 2050.
When people talk about climate, I think jobs. Within our climate response lies an extraordinary engine of job creation and economic opportunity ready to be fired up. Countries that take decisive action now to create the industries of the future will be the ones that reap the economic benefits of the clean energy boom that’s coming.
He also called on the world leaders who represent the world’s largest economies to take action within their countries to curb emissions.
He continued:
No nation can solve this crisis on its own. We have to step up.
Vice President Kamala Harris said at the start of the summit as she introduced Biden:
As a global community, we must act quickly and together to confront this crisis, and this will require innovation and collaboration around the world.
The world remains far from meeting the Paris Accord’s aim of limiting global warming to around 1.5° Celsius – even though failure to hit the target will result in a cascade of devastating and costly effects.
U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said:
We are on the verge of the abyss. We are way off track. This must be the year for action — the make-it-or-break-it year.
That’s why the climate is a big focus of Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure proposal and an essential element of the US national security and foreign policy. However, the administration will have to make some challenging-to-guarantee assumptions about the future to reach the 50% target. And persuading other key nations (like China, Brazil, India, and Russia) to beef up their promises will be critical if the world will meet its collective goal of slowing global warming.
