Biden plans to halve US emissions by 2030

The US president, Joe Biden, has announced a new target to halve his country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from 2005 levels.

The US will aim for a 50-52% reduction by 2030 from a 2005 baseline, and set the country on course to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Biden announced the target during the Leaders Summit on Climate – an ongoing virtual meeting of 40 world leaders to discuss global efforts to combat climate change.

He added that meeting the 2030 target will require investments in infrastructure and clean technologies and boosting the US supply chain.

The renewable energy industry welcomed the announcement, with Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy (Acore) saying: “Meeting this ambitious target will require rapid transformation of the power sector and significant investment in a 21st century grid. 

“The renewable energy sector already employs hundreds of thousands of Americans and is poised to do its part in the transition to a carbon-free grid, a step that will create millions of additional good-paying jobs while saving money for consumers and preventing the worst impacts of climate change.”

Since taking office in January 2021, Biden has applied for the US to rejoin the Paris Agreement, set an offshore wind target of 30GW by 2030 and a goal to decarbonise the country’s electricity sector by 2035.