The US has unveiled new stronger greenhouse gas emissions targets in the final weeks of Joe Biden’s presidency in a bid to galvanise international and state efforts on climate change despite Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The upgraded targets are required by the UN before February as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement, from which Trump is widely expected to once again withdraw the US when he takes office next month.
The US’s new goal commits to a reduction of economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by between 61 and 66 per cent by 2035 from 2005 levels, with the goal of becoming net zero by 2050, alongside a cut in methane emissions by 35 per cent over the same period. This compares with a previous target for a cut in all emissions of 50 to 52 per cent by 2030, which the US is already short of reaching.