President Biden pledged sharp cutbacks in U.S. carbon emissions on Monday, telling delegates to the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, that “there’s no more time to hang back or sit on the fence or argue among ourselves.”
Biden reiterated that the U.S. will reduce carbon emissions by 50%-52% below 2005 levels by 2030. The action, he said, “will demonstrate to the world,” that the U.S. is “not only back at the table” but will “hopefully lead by the power of our example.”
“I know it hasn’t been the case,” Biden said pointedly, adding that his administration “is working overtime to show that our climate commitment is action, not words.”
Biden told delegates at the COP26 summit that the U.S. will also seek to become a “net-zero-emissions economy” by no later than 2050. “We want to do more to help countries around the world, especially developing countries, accelerate their clean energy transition, address pollution and ensure the world we all must share a cleaner, safer, [healthier] planet,” he said.
Biden touted his legislative proposals, still awaiting passage by his fellow Democrats in Congress, that would allocate more than $500 billion to addressing climate change, which he called “the most significant investment to deal with the climate crisis that any advanced nation has made. Ever.”
Biden concluded his 11-minute speech with a twist on his usual closing sentiments, saying, “God bless you all, and may God save the planet.”
There’s a lot more work ahead
While Biden cast the summit as a historic inflection point, his top national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, had a more pragmatic take, saying that Glasgow was only a starting point to reach climate goals. “We’re going to have to come back in ’22, ’23, ’24, ’25, ’26, ’27, ’28, ’29, and ’30 to ultimately be able to achieve what’s necessary to achieve,” he told reporters traveling to Scotland with Biden.
Biden’s national climate adviser Gina McCarthy earlier said that the carbon-reduction plan “illustrates how, within three decades, the U.S. can meet our global climate commitments by decarbonizing the power sector, electrifying transportation and buildings, transforming industry, reducing non-CO2 emissions and reinvigorating our natural lands,” she said.