President Joe Biden has pledged to cut the global greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52 percent below levels of emission in 2005, which appears to be quite an ambitious goal. However, average Americans need to consider that the European Union and the United States use different metric systems to combat climate change. If you place the United States on a similar metric of other countries, cutting from 1990 the United States actually is right in the middle in terms of climate change policy.
A concern of some scientists is that the world, as a collective, isn’t reaching zero emissions quick enough. In other countries, like India and China- pollutant powerhouses take much more of the pie of emissions of carbon. Ambassadors from India and China have stated comments like from China’s vice foreign minister Le Yucheng“When it comes to climate change response, China is at a different stage than the U.S., Western nations and other developed countries”- Claims like lack of money and innovation come from these prime ministers.
Additionally, critics state since the United States has higher per-person emissions than any other country, it should have a more robust response against carbon emissions. This issue is quite contentious across party lines, some Democrats urging President Biden to have more of a pronounced response against Climate change, while conversely, some Republicans claim that the United States should not act so harshly on climate change when countries like China and India are not. For example, Senator Barrasso of Wyoming states “ said that the president was “unilaterally committing America to a drastic and damaging emissions pledge” that would potentially punish the U.S. economy while “America’s adversaries like China and Russia continue to increase emissions at will.”
By committing the United States to this lofty goal, President Biden needs to act and create wide-sweeping changes across the United States, plans like his massive infrastructure proposal which aims to include tax incentives for clean energy and electric vehicles, and plans like this are uncertain to even pass through Congress. The climate future for the United States is uncertain, and it appears that there will always be opposition on either side.
Are you happy with President Bidens’ climate plan- and why or why not?
10 comments:
I think that Biden is taking the right step to help the US decrease their overall contribution to climate change. I feel that if the US works to help reduce climate change then other nations will follow them. The more nations that are committed to stopping climate change the more likely China, India and Russia will be forced into it.
I am definitely in support of Biden's ambitious plan to cut emissions -- we as a nation and as a world are already far too behind in combating climate change, and very little progress was made prior to Biden's presidency. The point of view of certain individuals in Congress is certainly upsetting-- those who claim that U.S. shouldn't work aggressively to cut emissions because India and China aren't are not considering the situation through the right context.
To clarify, I believe that China and India should indeed take a bigger stand against climate change. However, it is a somewhat valid point that they are both disadvantaged. Due to a history of colonialism, their development was stunted, and as a result, they must first industrialize like countries like the U.S. did a little over 100 years ago (for context, India only gained independence in 1947-- it is a very young country). Using these countries which are more disadvantaged as an excuse is extremely incorrect. Instead, U.S. should utilize its global influence and access to sophisticated technology to make positive progress in combating climate change.
I am also happy with Biden's plan, as the significant cut of emissions will help combat climate change, an extremely pressing issue. His 2 trillion dollar infrastructure plan aiming to cut emissions by 50% by the end of the decade will require the continued innovation of decarbonization technologies, as well as the collaboration between agricultural, transportation, and other industries. The Republican sentiment that since China and India make up a large percentage of emissions released, they should be the ones combatting climate change instead of the United States is harmful and far-fetched. While it is true that they make up a significant part of the "pie," people often overlook outsourcing— in 2012, 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted by China making products which were exported to a different country. Thus, there should not be a finger pointing match or "but look at ___" sentiment; instead, countries must work together to combat this issue and help reduce emissions. While this will be difficult (one reason being how different each country's infrastructure and systems are, like Harbani said), it is necessary to making meaningful change.
https://www.euronews.com/living/2021/02/06/why-we-re-all-to-blame-for-china-and-india-s-filthy-co2-emissions
I think Biden's plan is very ambitious, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. However, implementing this plan is a whole different issue. Fortunately, Biden has control of both the House and the Senate, so this plan may be more plausible. There is a lot of criticism saying that this plan either will cost too much or will increase unemployment rates, but I still think it might be necessary. During Trump's presidency, he withdrew the U.S. from hundreds of key environmental policies that caused a lot of damage. It will take a lot more to be able to reverse this, specifically a reelection. Trump has already said he's serious considered another presidential run, and if he wins, he'll definitely reverse Biden's policies and we'll be back where we started.
Biden's plan is late, but still definitely a progressive step that we need right now. One of the things I was initially co9nfused by with the allocation of the $2 trillion was why so much of it was going directly towards infrastructure. I thought most of it would go towards production of more renewable energy and hopefully trying to prevent the expansion of fossil fuel plants. After some evaluation, however, I can see why this plan actually makes a lot of sense. The overall idea of the climate plan is to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and the best way to do that would be to overall cut energy consumption, transportation, etc. Improvements towards infrastructure would overall make them more sustainable, meaning buildings will see less environmentally damaging maintenance. Furthermore it would reduce overall energy consumption. I think another key point here is that infrastructure directly leads to low-skill jobs. One of the best ways the US as a country will see increased social acceptance for climate plans is if there is an economic gain to come with it. By making such a large environmental plan also economically beneficial, I believe Biden is doing a great job at convincing the US that more green environmentally will lead to more green monetarily, and it will be worth the upfront cost.
I fully support Biden’s plan to cut global greenhouse emissions. Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement was a pivotal moment that signaled the US’s intentions to step back from a position of leadership in the international community. I agree with Biden’s decision for the US to lead the charge on the issue of climate change by setting this pledge. While the sentiment from the Republican side of the aisle is that the US should let countries like China and India, which are major sources of greenhouse emissions, clean up their own mess, on a per capita basis, the US was the largest emitter of greenhouse gases as recently as 2019. Furthermore, climate change affects the entire world, not just the sources of greenhouse emissions, and humanity’s window to control it is fast closing. Therefore, from the perspectives of both personal responsibility and the collective good, I believe Biden’s pledge to cut greenhouse emissions is a good policy.
I think Biden's plan is definitely needed, as we all know how much harm we have been doing to the Earth in recent history. His plan would be a great step towards slowing climate change, however, the near future might be hurt with the economy taking a hit. During this period, unemployment or theoretically increased taxes could be possible, but in the long term, the development of new technology to reduce energy consumption. I am happy with the change because changes towards being more environmentally friendly was something that was needed for a while, and Biden's ambitious plan does just that.
I am definitely happy with Biden's plan, as it is an important and necessary step in the direction of fighting global warming. I do wonder, how long it will take for America as a country to become as eco-friendly as some European countries like Denmark, Switzerland, the UK, France, Germany, etc. Could paralleling this countries come from better infrastructure to help our country become more green? If this passes through Congress, I think there is a good chance that we could reduce our emissions slightly. I also think the US should set long term goals, like wanting to only produce 10% of the emissions we do today in 10 years, or completely eliminating plastic, and set their agenda to achieve those.
I'm in favor of Biden's plan to cut greenhouse emissions, even if he doesn't reach his goal completely. It's important to set a standard in this country that we will protect the health of our citizens and home WHILE growing economy, despite what other parts of the world may be doing. The fact is, the U.S. economy does not rely on companies using these gases. We have the technology to provide greener alternatives, and generally every large corporation has the funds. In fact, greener sources such as solar energy can actually end up being a cheaper alternative in the long run, proving that businesses do not opt for fossil fuels to "protect the economy," but rather because they are simply ill-informed or unbothered by the climate crisis. Further, Biden's promise to make this country greener doesn't only have the direct affect of lowering emission, but also raises general awareness and concern around the matter.
Biden's climate plan is a strong, needed policy that is allowing our country to develop with consideration of our future on this planet. Countries not on the same level of climate change policies, such as aforementioned India and China, should also take into strong consideration the effects of economic growth on the environment. At the current rate of carbon emissions emitted into the atmosphere, we may be thriving economically, but our future certainly does not look so bright. Shockingly, during the pandemic, countries have even "turned to cheap fossil fuels to revive their economies after the crisis." Additionally, I believe that the US not having to act against climate change because many other countries are not is a weak argument. This sort of mindset will only worsen the climate issue. Climate change is certainly an issue that every country, collectively, must address. Again, Biden's plan to cut carbon emissions is a healthy and sensible policy for our country and I hope it can be used as a cue for other countries to start acting against carbon emissions as well.
(Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01125-x)
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