American environmental groups urge the US to 50% emissions by 2030 to inspire other nations to take action
March 09, 2021
A coalition of American environmental groups urges the administration to cut emissions no lower than 50% by 2030. By doing so, the US would be on track to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and spur other countries and businesses to take actions to reduce emissions.
On Earth Day, 22 April, Joe Biden would be unveiling a new actionable national emissions reduction target in a climate meeting with other major economies.
Nat Keohane, vice-president for international climate at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) said that the new target must be ambitious enough to show US leadership but must also be realistic one. A report by EDF stated that a unified effort is needed and proposed that the US transform all cars to be free of emissions by 2035, fully shift to utilizing renewable energy and introducing regulations to prohibit methane emissions from oil and gas drilling. Key stakeholders of other environmental groups such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, World Resources Institute and National Resources Defense Council have remarked that this move is cost-effective in the long run and it is an essential step in combating the adverse effects of climate change such as wildfires, floods and heatwaves.
In 2014, Barack Obama’s administration aimed to reduce emissions by 28% by 2025 which was just used as a target to help set federal government policy and work towards it. Nathan Hultman, director at the Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland who aided in designing the 2014 emission goal remarked that the new target would be challenging but can be achieved if the entire society corporates. Subsequently, during the Trump administration, despite being the world’s second-largest carbon polluter, the US exited the Paris climate agreement and reversed emission-reducing policies. This move severely damaged the US’s credibility in handling climate change. Biden's return to the Paris climate agreement has brought international attention and expectation, said Laurence Tubiana, a French diplomat and key architect of the Paris agreement.
John Kerry is on a diplomatic mission to Europe to meet leaders before the crucial UN climate talks which would be held later this year. Kerry has thus far met the British prime minister and would be meeting up with other officials from the European Commission and the French government.