Biden aims for steep emissions cuts amid looming Trump presidency

President Biden announced a new goal to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 61% to 66% by 2035, even as Donald Trump’s return to the White House threatens to derail climate policies.

Maxine Joselow reports for The Washington Post.

In short:

Biden’s updated climate target aims to reduce emissions by at least 61% compared to 2005 levels by 2035.
Analysts predict the U.S. will fall short, especially with Trump promising to dismantle Biden’s climate policies, including clean energy incentives.
State and local governments may need to take the lead on climate action if federal policies weaken under a Trump administration.

Key quote:

“This goal is very, very ambitious. To achieve these numbers, given the incoming administration, would require a lot of unprecedented policies from nonfederal actors like states and cities.”

— Robbie Orvis, senior director of modeling and analysis at Energy Innovation

Why this matters:

Federal climate policies impact the nation’s ability to meet emissions targets, affecting public health, extreme weather and global efforts to curb climate change. If Trump rolls back key policies, states, cities and private sectors will face greater pressure to act.

www.washingtonpost.com

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