The United States will reduce its carbon emissions by 50% to 52% by 2030, President Biden said at the Leaders Summit on Climate on April 22 at the White House.
“The United States is not waiting. We are determined to act,” Biden said in his opening remarks. “We must act quickly to tackle these challenges.”
The virtual summit, which brought together over 40 leaders from around the world to discuss major climate issues and actions to combat them, was held on Earth Day.
Biden outlined ambitious goals for U.S. leadership in clean energy technologies, rooted in transportation and infrastructure projects both domestically and abroad. These plans will create American jobs and boost the global economy by strengthening a robust clean energy sector worldwide.
The U.S. plan for these goals includes:
• Achieving 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035.
• Creating well-paying jobs and reducing emissions by supporting electrification and efficiency upgrades in American buildings.
• Reducing carbon pollution from the transportation sector by cutting emissions from cars and boosting the development of low-carbon and renewable fuels for aviation.
• Cutting agricultural emissions by funding nature-based solutions for ecosystems.
• Supporting carbon capture as well as new sources of hydrogen – produced from renewable energy, nuclear energy, or waste – to power industrial facilities.
• Globally, the United States has committed to mobilizing resources, institutional knowledge, and technical expertise to help countries around the world achieve equally ambitious and climate-friendly investments and technological upgrades.
Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry emphasized how these goals can set the stage for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow this November.
“The steps our countries take between now and Glasgow will prepare the world for success, to protect livelihoods around the globe and keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius,” Biden said.
“If we work together, we can do more than just confront this crisis,” Blinken said in his opening remarks at the summit. “We can turn it into an opportunity to improve our societies and deliver results for people around the world, and we can lay the groundwork for cooperation on other shared challenges.”
Source: share.america.gov, by Noelani Kirschner