The NYT on Sunday published a comprehensive piece on Biden’s climate agenda, correctly calling it the most ambitious U.S. climate legislation ever and warning that failure to pass the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill would leave the US an impotent participant in next month’s COP26 in Glasgow.
While 191 nations have signed onto the Paris Agreement to keep warming below 2 degrees, temperatures have already risen 1.1 C. from pre-industrial times. Scientists are projecting that COP26 delegations must immediately begin the effort to half emissions by 2030 to avoid the most devastating impacts of global heating. The US plays an enormous role as a ‘trend setter’ at the conference.
Last month, UN Secretary General António Guterres called on the signatories to the Paris Agreement to redouble their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), calling for a 45% reduction in emissions by 2030 “to reach carbon neutrality by mid-century…It is clear that everyone must assume their responsibilities”, he emphasized.
Biden has pledged a 50% cut in GHG emissions below 2005 levels over the next 20 years (not nearly ambitious enough)
but getting there relies on passage of the Democrat's $3.5 trillion budget package.
“The whole world is watching,” said Rachel Kyte, dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a climate adviser for the United Nations Secretary General. “If these bills don’t come to pass,” she said, “then the U.S. will be coming to Glasgow with some fine words” but “not much else. It won’t be enough.”
What are the climate provisions in the Democrats’ Bill?
The NYT reports:
The climate provisions are designed to quickly transform energy and transportation, the country’s two largest sources of greenhouse gases, from systems that now mostly burn gas, oil and coal to sectors that run increasingly on clean energy from the sun, wind and nuclear power.
The impact will touch a broad cross-section of American life, from the kinds of cars that Americans drive, to the types of crops grown by farmers, to the way homes are heated and buildings are constructed. One measure could shutter virtually all of the nation’s remaining coal plants, forcing sweeping change in communities dependent on mining but also, one study estimated, preventing as many as 50,000 premature deaths from pollution by 2030. And other measures would provide billions to replant in national forests, repair trails for hikers and clear brush to reduce the risk of wildfire.
The most potent climate measure in that legislation is a $150 billion Clean Electricity Performance Program, which would reward utilities that generate an increasing amount of electricity from wind, solar, nuclear, or other clean energy sources and penalize those that do not. The policy aims for the United States to get 80 percent of its electricity from sources that don’t generate carbon dioxide by 2030, up from 40 percent today.
The UN has published the NDCs from all 191 signatories.
More ambitious targets are necessary to prevent global emissions from rising.
If the 191 signatories do not submit more ambitious NDCs, will increase by 15% by 2030, which, the IPCC reports, could lead to a temperature rise of 2.7C by 2100.
70 countries indicated their embrace of carbon neutrality goals by around the middle of the century. If this materializes, it could lead to even greater emissions reductions, of about 26% by 2030, compared to 2010, the report explains.
“The recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was a code red for humanity. But it also made clear that it is not too late to meet the Paris Agreement 1.5-degree target. We have the tools to achieve this target. But we are rapidly running out of time”, the UN chief highlighted. news.un.org/..
Help for the Global South Also Hinges on Infrastructure Bill
The Global North is responsible for 92% of excess global carbon emissions. Countries in the Global South are demanding monetary help from developed countries to assist them in implementing clean energy in lieu of scaling up the use of fossil fuels.
Mr. Guetteres called for “coalitions of solidarity” between countries reliant on coal and developed countries that have the funds and resources to convert to clean energy.
Without pledges and financial commitments from industrialized nations to make this happen, “there is a high risk of failure of COP26”, he said.
“We also need developed nations to finally deliver on the US100 billion commitment promised over a decade ago in support to developing countries,” said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change. “The Climate Finance report published today by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that this goal has not been reached either”.
Biden pledged at last month’s UNGA he will “work with Congress to double funds by 2024 to $11.4 billion per year to help developing nations deal with climate change.” (www.reuters.com/...)
"The US is still woefully short of what it owes and this needs to be increased urgently," said Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa.
The US pledge is also dependent on the passage of the Infrastructure bill.
The “Global Commons”
[the findings] published in September in The Lancet Planetary Health, are based on the idea that the atmosphere is part of the global commons, unowned natural resources belonging to the world’s inhabitants. Given this framework of an atmospheric commons, all countries have a right to their fair share of carbon dioxide emissions. The paper’s rubric for determining “fair share” included geographic and population size, as well as contributions to carbon emissions since 1850.
The findings of the paper, Hickel suggested, “could be the basis for reparations claims.” For instance, the United Nations estimated that the cost of adapting to climate change in developing countries could be $500 billion per year by 2050. If we know that the United States is responsible for 40% of excess emissions, Hickel explained, one could argue that the United States “is responsible for 40% of that $500 billion cost.”
eos.org/...
Take Action
Can you call Citibank CEO Jane Fraser and let them know that committing to “net zero emissions by 2050” is meaningless ― unless it means that they are going to stop funding fossil fuel expansion today.
It is now only 19 days until the start of the Glasgow Climate Talks, a historic opportunity for the world to act on climate. We’re already seeing the first signs of action from the world’s largest polluters: After years of stalling, the United States has pledged to double its international climate finance commitment; China has committed to end financing of overseas coal plants.
Yet, with only 19 days to go, major corporate polluters like Citibank have been absolutely silent.
As the G20 and UN climate summits approach this Fall, I call on U.S. negotiators to center the voices and demands of global grassroots leaders in these conversations.
The historical emissions of the United States have had real impacts across the globe and we have an obligation to lead the world toward solutions that center the voices and needs of those communities most impacted by climate change.
Stop deforestation in the Canadian Boreal forest
Procter & Gamble has a long history of destroying and degrading forests -- from Borneo to the Boreal. Take action now.
The Canadian Boreal Forest has been home to Indigenous peoples and herds of caribou for millennia. Tropical forests around the world are crucial to preventing climate chaos and provide habitat for endangered species like orangutans and Sumatran rhinos. But both are being clear cut by Procter & Gamble’s suppliers to source pulp for Charmin Toilet Paper and palm oil for consumer products.
The writers in Climate Brief work to keep the Daily Kos community informed and engaged with breaking news about the climate crisis around the world while providing inspiring stories of environmental heroes, opportunities for direct engagement, and perspectives on the intersection of climate activism with spirituality, politics, and the arts.