Under former President Barack Obama, the U.S. was a driving force behind the formation of the landmark Paris agreement. Now, the Biden administration can play a critical role setting more aggressive U.S. emissions-reductions targets and encouraging other countries to follow suit.
“Internationally there will be a expectation that the U.S. brings forward a new, ambitious target under the Paris agreement,” said David Waskow, director of the World Resources Institute’s international climate initiative. “Internationally, it’s an important way of making clear the U.S. is going to take care of business at home.”
Under the Paris agreement, some 195 member countries set their own voluntary emissions-reduction targets, with the goal of keeping global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels. Under Obama, the U.S. had pledged to curb greenhouse gas emissions by 26%-28% below 2005 levels by 2025.
The World Resources Institute and other environmental groups have advocated a U.S. commitment to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 50% over the next decade. Achieving that would require a broad mix of domestic climate action, including more zero-emissions vehicles and rapid shifts in how the U.S. generates its electricity, with roughly 38% currently provided by natural gas.
Some activists are pushing even more rapid reductions before 2030. The U.S. Climate Action Network has advocated the U.S. cut its “fair share” of emissions by paring them 70% below 2005 levels by 2030 while helping developing countries stifle greenhouse gases too. The U.S. has an obligation to make reductions in line with its “historical responsibility for fueling the climate crisis,” said U.S. Climate Campaign Director Sriram Madhusoodanan.
Rejoining the Paris agreement “must be followed by bold and aggressive commitments and actions to both drastically cut U.S. emissions and help finance a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels in parts of the world least responsible for the climate crisis,” Madhusoodanan said.
Those other efforts will take more time — and be more challenging. While Biden could put the U.S. back in the Paris agreement with the stroke of a pen, other actions will require help from Congress or lengthy rule-rewriting by his federal agencies.
The U.S. has some work to do rebuilding trust, WRI’s Waskow said.
“The U.S. has to come back the international stage with some humility,” Waskow said. The U.S. needs to “understand that its been out of the mix for the past four years and throwing obstacles in the path of progress.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.