Pressure is mounting on President Joe Biden to fulfill his pledge to release new climate targets before he vacates office — but time is running out.
President-elect Donald Trump is sure to disregard plans for deeper cuts to U.S. climate pollution, writes Sara Schonhardt. But missing the Paris Agreement’s February deadline to submit new 2035 climate targets could still be detrimental to international goals, advocates say.
Submitting the 10-year blueprint to the United Nations could make it easier for the next president to revive in four years when Trump is out. Plus, the so-called nationally determined contribution (NDC) would set the bar of what’s possible for the world’s largest economy, encouraging other nations to pursue strong targets.
“It would send an unfortunate signal internationally if the Biden administration doesn’t submit its target,” said David Waskow with the World Resources Institute.
The White House said last month that it intends to submit a new goal, but has so far missed a number of opportunities to do so. The announcement didn’t happen at COP29, the global climate conference last month, or at a recent meeting of the Group of 20 major economies. Environmental groups pushed Biden to announce the new target last week, the ninth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, with no success.
Jean Su, with the Center for Biological Diversity, said she thinks the delay is due to the White House’s effort to get it right.
“Even if it comes on Jan. 18, fine, just get it out there,” she told Sara.
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Still, a new policy brief by the Center for Global Sustainability found that corporations, states and localities could “counteract” rollbacks of federal regulations and funding. The U.S. could still cut emissions by 54-62 percent with strong climate action at the state and local level, according to the brief.
