Biden calls for US to cut GHG emissions in half: Update

Updates with changes throughout

President Joe Biden is pledging the US will cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to half of 2005 levels by the end of the decade, as he seeks to spur new global actions to address climate change.

Biden today committed the US to reduce its emissions by 50-52pc from a 2005 base year by 2030, as he opened a two-day virtual climate summit attended by 40 world leaders.

"The signs are unmistakable," Biden said. "The science is undeniable. The cost of inaction keeps mounting. The United States is not waiting. We are resolving to take action."

That new commitment forms the basis of the US' new nationally determined contribution (NDC), or emissions pledge, under the Paris climate agreement, which it submitted to the UN today.

The president is hoping that by promising to make such cuts the US can persuade other nations to set their own, more aggressive targets under the agreement, framing the need for action as good economic policy.

"All of us, all of us, and particularly those of us who represent the world's largest economies, we have to step up," Biden said. "Those that do take action and make bold investments in their people, in clean energy future, will win the good jobs of tomorrow and make their economies more resilient and more competitive."

A number of world leaders have used the summit, and the days leading up to it, to announce their own new NDCs.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau today said his country would cut its emissions by 40-45pc from 2005 levels by 2030, replacing a previous 30pc reduction pledge. Japanese premier Yoshihide Suga announced a new target of reducing his country's GHG emissions by 46pc from 2013 levels, compared with 26pc previously.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson called the new US goal a "game changing" announcement but noted that raising global ambitions for emissions cuts and climate finance will be a "political challenge" that leaders must overcome.

"It is vital for all of us to show that this is not all about some expensive, politically correct green act of bunny hugging," he said.

The White House said it developed the US target after consulting with relevant agencies and stakeholders to determine what level of emissions reductions are possible across the economy, accounting for factors such as technologies, future costs and the potential standards and incentives that could be used to reduce emissions.

An administration official said the target does not envision any specific sector-by-sector emissions cuts, but instead recognizes there are "multiple paths" to reducing US emissions.

A White House fact sheet accompanying the announcement highlights the president's proposal to eliminate GHG emissions from the electricity sector by 2035, as well as his support for setting more aggressive fuel economy and tailpipe CO2 standards for new cars and trucks, the top two sources of US emissions.

The transportation sector accounted for 29pc of US emissions in 2019, followed by electricity generation at 25pc, according to the latest US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data.

The US under former president Barack Obama pledged to cut its GHG emissions by 26-28pc by 2025 from 2005 levels to help achieve the Paris agreement's goal of keeping global temperatures from rising by more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

The White House said the country is on track to meet Obama's pledge, with the new target keeping the US on pace to help limit the global increase in temperature to 1.5°C.

US emissions totaled just under 6.6bn metric tonnes in 2019, nearly 12pc below 2005 levels, with net emissions, accounting for carbon stored in forests and cropland, about 13pc lower than 2005. The administration's updated NDC estimates net emissions last year were 17pc below 2005. That would mean to reach the new 2030 goal, the US would have to cut its emissions by about 40pc from last year's total.

A 50pc cut would put the US pledge on par with the near-term commitments made by many of the major economics under the Paris agreement, according to a recent Rhodium Group analysis.

While many environmental groups have already cheered the announcement, some are pushing back against Biden's new target, saying it falls short of what is needed to limit the rise in global temperatures.

"While many will applaud the president's commitment to cut US emissions by at least half by 2030, we have a responsibility to tell the truth: It is nowhere near enough," environmental group Sunrise Movement political director Evan Weber said.

The White House noted that the 50pc target is being supported by hundreds of businesses, along with many US state and local leaders and scientists.

Republicans in the US Congress are warning that Biden's efforts could hurt the country's economy.

"President Biden's decision to force America back into the Paris climate accord and increase our commitments could severely hamper our global competitive edge to the benefit of the Chinese Communist Party, the world's top carbon polluter," said US representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

By Michael Ball