The Obama administration on Tuesday, March 31, pledged to take further steps in addressing climate change by cutting United States greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent, based on 2005 levels.
President Barack Obama, who has made the fight against climate change a second-term priority, formally filed with the United Nations a plan he outlined during a summit in China in November. His submission with the UN is meant to boost talks aimed at coming to a final agreement in Paris in December on how nations can avert permanent climate damage.
The strategy to reduce emissions relies on deep cuts in coal-fired power plants and carbon dioxide emitted from cars, as well as a speedy time table, which assumes the president will begin implementing relevant regulations before he leaves office.
“The administration’s climate work will help meet the ambitious but achievable goal we have submitted today,” said Brian Deese, Obama’s senior adviser on climate change, according to BBC. “We have the tools we need to meet this goal and take action on pollution. And we know this is good for our economy, good for our health and good for our future.”
The blueprint, which is not legally binding, describes how America will meet its pledge through use of Obama’s executive authority. It is an acknowledgment that any climate change legislation proposed would be blocked by Congress, which is dominated by Republicans who have called the rules a “war on coal” and strongly oppose Obama’s efforts to reach the United Nations accord in Paris.
“Just as we witnessed throughout recent negotiations with Iran and during the previous climate agreement with China, President Obama and his administration act as if Congress has no role in these discussions. That’s just flat out wrong,” Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said in a written statement.
“We will not stand by and allow the president to unilaterally enact bad energy policies that hurt our nation’s poorest families and young people the most,” he added. “I’ll continue working with my colleagues to ensure Americans’ voices are heard.”
To bypass the Senate, which would need to ratify United States involvement in a foreign treaty, Secretary of State John Kerry and other diplomatic officials are coordinating closely with their foreign counterparts to ensure the deal in Paris will not legally qualify as a treaty, The New York Times reported.
Environmental groups have touted the plan, especially Obama’s effort to work around Congress.
“The United States’ proposal shows that it is ready to lead by example on the climate crisis,” said Jennifer Morgan, an expert on international climate negotiations at research organization World Resources Institute, according to the Times.
However, some groups said more action is necessary to prevent the most devastating consequences of climate change.
“The Obama administration now has a history of setting decent targets and offering nice talking points on climate change, but not backing that up with urgent and significant actions to move away from fossil fuels,” Kyle Ash, legislative representative for environmental group Greenpeace, said in an emailed statement.
For the United States to achieve its pledged goal, it will need to approximately double its annual pace of emissions reduction from 1.2 percent per year on average to 2.3 to 2.8 percent between 2020 to 2025.
Other countries who have promised to participate in the effort to avoid devastating climate change include China, which pledged its emissions would stop growing by around 2030, with leaders saying they need their economies to continue growing and more time to reduce greenhouse-gas emitting fossil fuel use. Additionally, the European Union has offered to cut emissions 40 percent based on 1990 levels by 2030. Mexico, Norway and Switzerland had also submitted their plans by late Tuesday morning.
(With reports from BBC, Bloomberg, The New York Times and US News and World Report)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(Las Vegas April 2-8, 2015 Sec. A pg.1)
