<article><p class="lead">US presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke wants the country to slash its greenhouse gas emissions to near zero over the next 30 years, possibly through the use of a carbon market.</p><p>The Democratic former US representative today released a sweeping <a href="https://betoorourke.com/climate-change/?fbclid=IwAR04gcqDXYe2uTaSf2F8hmk37lbN3A5Ls2dlVbzV7RiKofGY8mDh7B0pQ_w">climate change plan</a> that calls for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, as well cutting methane emissions from oil and gas development, stopping new leases for fossil fuel projects on federal land, and changing royalties "to reflect the climate cost" of energy development.</p><p>"We have one last chance to unleash the ingenuity and political will of hundreds of millions of Americans to meet this moment before it is too late," O'Rourke said, calling climate change "the greatest threat" faced by the US.</p><p>To achieve the 2050 emissions goal, O'Rourke says he will work with Congress to establish a "legally enforceable standard" within his first 100 days that "will send a clear price signal to the market while putting in place a mechanism that will ensure the environmental integrity of this endeavor."</p><p>That could mean the use of a mechanism such as a national cap-and-trade program, but the plan does not specify. The plan also appears to endorse using carbon offsets to meet the net-zero goal by calling for giving the agriculture sector "unprecedented access to the technologies and markets" that will help them make money from supporting GHG emissions cuts.</p><p>O'Rourke's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p><p>Overall, the plan calls for $1.5 trillion in federal spending over 10 years, which O'Rourke says would support $5 trillion in total investments in infrastructure, innovation and communities affected by climate change.</p><p>To help fund the plan, O'Rourke proposes ending the "tens of billions of dollars of tax breaks currently given to fossil fuel companies" and making other changes to the US tax code to ensure that "corporations and the wealthiest among us pay their fair share."</p><p>The plan includes a host of other goals and proposals, from accelerating development of renewable energy and setting new energy efficiency standards for buildings and appliances to establishing "buy clean" federal procurement programs for steel, cement and glass.</p></article>
