New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) The United States, historically the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, announced its updated climate action plan on Thursday, committing to cut emissions by 61-66 per cent below 2005 levels by 2035.
The updated climate target comes amid the political situation in the US which has broader implications for global climate action.
While the Joe Biden administration unveiled this ambitious plan, President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly stated his intention to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement, the global pact to tackle climate change. If Trump follows through, it would also mean abandoning any commitments under the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
NDC means national plans and pledges made by a country to meet the goal of maintaining global temperature increases to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels while aiming for 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Countries are required to submit their updated NDCs by February next year.
The announcement makes the US the fourth country to update its climate goals, following the UAE, the UK, and Brazil, which submitted their plans during COP29, the United Nations climate summit held in Baku, Azerbaijan, last month.
Developing and poor countries reluctantly accepted a new climate finance deal at COP29, fearing a worse outcome if discussions were pushed to COP30 in Brazil next year.
In Baku, developed countries committed to providing USD 300 billion to the developing world by 2035 to help it tackle climate change -- a far cry from the USD 1.3 trillion that the Global South needs annually to cope with the rapidly warming world.
A former Indian negotiator explained: “Many countries wanted to delay the decision. But they worried that the next round of negotiations would be even tougher, especially with the US likely stepping back under Trump. They felt trapped into accepting the deal.”
Despite federal uncertainty, states, cities, and businesses in the US are pushing forward on climate action.
The US Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of governors representing nearly 60 per cent of the country's economy and 55 per cent of its population, pledged to align with the new NDC. They committed to working collectively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 61-66 per cent below 2005 levels by 2035.
US Special Climate Envoy John Podesta, during a press call, expressed confidence in the country's ability to meet the target despite political challenges.
"The Biden-Harris administration may be about to leave office, but we're confident in America's ability to rally around this new climate goal.
"While the United States federal government under President Trump may put climate action on the back burner, the work to contain climate change is going to continue in the United States with commitment and passion and belief. That's not wishful thinking; it's happened before," he said.
Gina McCarthy, former White House national climate advisor, reassured international partners that the US remains committed.
“We are marching forward. States, cities, businesses, and local institutions are fully committed to achieving our ambitious climate goals and to working arm-in-arm with our international colleagues to advance the global transition to clean energy," she said.
Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said while the incoming administration has vowed to turn its back on the world again -- "the majority of Americans want climate action and the clean energy boom is unstoppable".
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)