The US has a long way to go to make up for its part in the climate crisis
US President Joe Biden prepares to sign executive orders after speaking about climate change issues in the State Dining Room of the White House on January 27th, 2021, in Washington, DC. Biden signed several executive orders related to the climate change crisis. Also pictured, left to right, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and US Vice President Kamala Harris. | Photo by Anna Moneymaker-Pool / Getty Images
The US plans to officially ratchet up its climate commitments going into Earth Day tomorrow, but many advocates are skeptical that it will be ambitious enough to balance out the nation’s inordinate role in creating the climate crisis.
Biden is expected to commit the US to slashing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least half compared to what they were in 2005. That’s already a significant ramp-up compared to the trajectory the US was on before. (Barack Obama committed the US to a roughly 27 percent cut by 2025.) But there’s still somewhat of a mismatch between what the US is willing to commit to and what some say it owes to the rest of the world.
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