"As Joe Biden rejoins Paris, the pressure grows for meaningful US CO2 emissions cuts"

 Source:

https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2021/02/23/pressure-grows-for-meaningful-us-emission-cuts/

"Thirty days after Joe Biden entered the White House, the US is officially back in the Paris Agreement.

... the US is expected to submit a new national contribution to the agreement, setting out an emissions target for 2030.

Laurence Tubiana, head of the European Climate Foundation, said: “The US needs to come to Cop26 [climate talks in late 2021] with a strong commitment: the urgency of the crisis is clear, and this means a new US target of at least 50% GHG cuts on 2005 levels by 2030, ideally more.”

A series of net zero pledges and upgraded 2030 emissions targets from major polluters – including China, Japan and the EU – last year has put pressure on the US to catch up.

The US is expected to announce its updated 2030 target ahead of a major economies climate summit which Biden will host on Earth Day, 22 April.

... Under Obama, the US committed to reducing emissions by 26-28% by 2025, compared to 2005 levels – a target which it is not on track to meet.

Tim Gore, head of the climate programme at The Institute for European Environmental Policy, said that the average US citizen has a carbon footprint ten times higher than the global emissions per capita needed to limit global warming to 1.5C.

A 50% reduction by 2030 would not bring US per capita emissions down to EU levels today, he said.

195 climate groups signed a petition this week calling on Biden to ensure that the US contributes its “fair share” to limiting global warming to 1.5C, the toughest target in the Paris Agreement.

US Climate Action Network is calling on the US to reduce its emissions by 195% by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.

At least 70% should be delivered domestically and the rest by helping developing countries to cut carbon faster, the campaign network said.

... It is not widely understood how little Obama actually committed to in Paris, with a 26-28% cut from 2005 emissions by 2025.

This compares to the UK’s pledge to cut by 49% from 2005 to 2030.

The comparison with 1990 levels is even more stark – UK’s 55% compares to the US 14% – as US emissions rose sharply between 1990 and 2005, while in the UK they dropped:

... the US has only managed a cut of 10% from 2005 levels.

... Far from “healing the planet”, Obama barely cut emissions at all in his reign, and they have remained flat since:

,,, to get to that 55% (UK target) , the US would require a cut of 44% in emissions from 2018 levels.

Even the wildest fantasies of AOC and Bernie could not find a way to do that.

... And while all of this is going on, China’s (CO2 emissions are) remorselessly rising, and are now more than double the US."