Biden administration aims to advance the fight against climate change in important new areas new standard Thursday brings an end to an era of unchecked carbon pollution from the nation’s power plants.
The rule would finally reduce carbon emissions from the single largest industrial source, reduce climate risks and encourage investment in clean energy.
This caps off President Biden’s grand slam on climate action.
In addition to cleaning up the power sector, he advocates: strong incentive inspire the heartland Manufacturing renaissance powered by clean energy At its core, it set rules to reduce emissions of methane, a climate superpollutant, and created new standards to reduce carbon dioxide and other pollution. from cars and trucks.
When properly integrated, these measures can help countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions by: 42 percent With growing federal, state and corporate ambitions, we could cut pollution in half by then, as the science says we can.
The situation is very different from when Biden took office.
He inherited a climate policy that was doomed by reckless policies. science denier Their allegiance to fossil fuels has set this country back by more than a generation in the modern existential struggle.
Biden will offer a clear strategic package of incentives and standards that have transformed this country from a climate laggard to a global leader in the deadly mission of leaving a better world for our children. I responded to this.
Of course, there is still work to be done. For example, new power plant regulations reduce emissions from coal-fired power units and new gas-fired systems; Not from an existing gas-fired plant. Contamination from these plants must also be addressed immediately.
No one expected that we could overcome a climate crisis that took decades to overcome in four years. But Biden is the most powerful climate change leader in history. He won his second term to advance the work he started.
After all, the alternative is not an invincible climate change agent who can end the crisis with a wave of his hand. The alternative is Donald Trump.
It can be difficult to know where President Trump stands on actual policy issues. The climate crisis is not like that.
as president trump withdrawn US participation It has left the country out of the global climate action package embodied in the 2015 Paris Agreement, turning the country into a climate outlier at odds with most of the world. If elected in November, Trump claimshe would do so again.
biden brought the people back into the Paris process And it is using domestic climate action to lead by example.
That’s important. The United States is demonstrating leadership on climate change. Last December, 200 countries agreed in global climate change talks We aim to triple wind and solar power generation by 2030, double energy efficiency and move away from fossil fuels in the long term.
In the coming weeks, the United States will work with other countries to develop ambitious climate goals for the next decade. Biden’s second term can put the country on track to achieve these goals without breaking promises again by refusing to make them, as President Trump promised.
President Trump spent four years abolish common sense rules Built to remove carbon pollution from cars, trucks, and power plants.
Biden has set new standards to address that pollution. These standards must be enforced and will likely be defended in court, rather than abolished as President Trump has promised.
President Trump has sown public distrust in climate science.he regularly omission or blocked publication government data on the impact of Climate change and natural disastersthrough hidden research, Strengthen power grid reliability By accelerating the growth of wind and solar power, thwart efforts by the U.S. military Analyze the impact of climate change on force readiness and operations.
Mr. Biden took effective action based on what the science shows about the cascade of climate disasters unfolding before our eyes.
Last year alone, hottest on record, A dangerous heatwave is coming two-thirds of the United States At risk and due to drought Mississippi River at record lows and a forest fire burned Enough land to cover all provinces of Canada oklahoma.
All of this and more will get worse unless we move forward in the fight to break our dependence on fossil fuels and invest in a clean energy future. Mr. Biden is pushing a strategy to make that happen, and it’s working.
No one plays a perfect game in such a difficult challenge. If Biden makes a mistake, he will be held accountable.
But when it comes to climate, the United States is in a much different place than it was when he took office. He earned a chance to finish what he started.
Manish Bapna is the President NRDC Action Fund.
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