No Matter What, US Exits Paris Accord 11/4/20; On Policy, Rejoining "Like Boarding A Moving Train" [View all]

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If Biden is elected, Dröge said she would expect re-entry into the Paris agreement quickly, as promised, but there are a few challenges. For one thing, the initial U.S. emissions reduction pledge toward the agreement was closely tied to President Obama's 2013 climate action plan, which included ambitious national plans for reducing carbon emissions from coal power plants and vehicle tailpipes, both of which Trump has scrapped. Environmental interests and several state governments are challenging his rollbacks in the federal courts.

"The U.S. dominated the international agreement so it would be in sync with U.S. domestic policies, and now those policies are not in place," she said.

Reinstating the federal emissions standards proposed for cars and trucks would be a critical part of that, since vehicle emissions have passed the power sector as the biggest source of greenhouse gas pollution in the U.S., according to the most recent annual report by America's Pledge on Climate. Re-tightening federal controls on methane emissions from oil and gas production that the Trump administration loosened would also help drive deeper emissions cuts.

Developing a new national pledge to control greenhouse gas emissions could be the trickiest part of rejoining the agreement, like trying to jump on board a moving train. With recent promises to make deeper emissions cuts and accelerate the pace toward a carbon-neutral world economy by 2050, the European Union and China are now driving the train, while the U.S., with no national strategy to reduce fossil fuel use, isn't even along for the ride.

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/28102020/paris-climate-accord-US-exit-day-after-election