Outgoing Biden Administration Pledges to Slash Emissions by Over 60% in 10 Years

Do you care what the present administration says. Probably not.

On the other hand, it's pretty laughable. Notice that Amazon, Meta, and Google all have plans to build their own nuclear reactors. Why? Because this country's electrical demand is about to go up 50%+ in the next 5 years. Credit among other things, crypto, AI, and more domestic manuf. So NO, emissions aren't going down...they're likely going to go up.

Of course, I'm in touch with reality.

Outgoing Biden Administration Pledges to Slash Emissions by Over 60% in 10 Years

Officials say the goal can largely be achieved without help from the federal government

By H. Claire Brown, WSJ

Dec. 19, 2024 5:00 am ET|WSJ Pro

The White House on Thursday announced a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 61% to 66% below 2005 levels in the next decade. The incoming Trump administration isn’t likely to honor the commitment.

“The Biden Administration may be about to leave office, but we’re confident in America’s ability to rally around this goal,” John Podesta, senior adviser to the president for international climate policy, said in a call with reporters.

Countries update their emissions goals once every five years as part of the Paris Agreement, a treaty in which nearly 200 countries agreed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Trump has promised to exit the agreement when he enters office.

A senior White House official said the new goal is largely achievable through state, local and tribal action with help from the private sector. A recent study from the University of Maryland found that with strong state and local leadership, the U.S. could reduce emissions by 54% to 62% without federal support for climate policies.

“States, cities, businesses, and local institutions are fully committed to achieving our ambitious climate goals and to working arm-in-arm with our international colleagues to advance the global transition to clean energy,” said Gina McCarthy, former White House national climate advisor and former EPA Administrator, in a statement.

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 were 17% below 2005 levels, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The country’s previous target reduced emissions between 50% and 52% by 2030. The U.S. is currently on track for a reduction of up to 45% by that time, a senior administration official said.

The Biden administration’s goal will be formally submitted to the United Nations as the U.S.’s nationally determined contribution, or NDC. Brazil’s new NDC promises to reduce emissions by 59% by 2035, and the United Kingdom has said its NDC will target 81% reductions. Most other countries haven’t yet submitted their plans.

Existing NDCs put the world on track for a global temperature rise of 2.5 degrees to 2.9 degrees Celsius, according to the U.N. Climate advocates are hoping that the current round of pledges, due in early 2025, will be aggressive enough to bring that projection down further.

Even if countries do set high reductions targets next year, real-world results aren’t guaranteed. There is a significant gap between existing NDC targets and implementation, according to the U.N.

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