Obama Administration Submits Greenhouse Reduction Targets

On March 31, the Obama Administration submitted its greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction plan to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in the lead up to the Paris climate talks in December. The Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) plan outlines how the United States aims to achieve GHG emission reductions between 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. This goal was initially announced last November, in a significant U.S.-China bilateral climate agreement. In an announcement accompanying the plan's release, Senior Advisor to President Obama Brian Deese stated, “The United States’ target is ambitious and achievable, and we have the tools we need to reach it.”

The details of the U.S. INDC plan follow submittals from the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, Russia and Mexico. In last year’s climate deal with the United States, China announced its GHG emissions would peak by 2030, as a result of building more non-fossil fuel energy installations. While most countries missed Tuesday’s informal deadline to submit reduction targets, the submission of INDCs from serious contributors to greenhouse gas emissions such as the European Union, Russia, and the United States represents a good start. Some countries have indicated they may wait until June to release their INDCs, which may make it more difficult for nations to come to an agreement at the Paris talks.

The U.S. INDC may intensify the political divide on climate change legislation domestically. The U.S. plan depends on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan, a draft regulation on GHG emissions from existing power plants. This plan has been strongly opposed by many members of Congress and faces several legal challenges. The U.S. INDC will also be achieved through less controversial policies, such as EPA fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for vehicles, and Department of Energy energy efficiency standards. The INDC also includes specific action on methane emissions and hydrofluorocarbons—two highly potent greenhouse gases—through the use of voluntary reductions from the private sector, common-sense regulations and potential reductions through an international agreement, the Montreal Protocol.

Cutting GHG emissions and pollution has significant benefits to public health, and does not have to harm the economy. In 2014, the global economy grew 3 percent while global carbon emissions flat-lined, showing it is possible to limit GHG emissions while continuing economic growth.

Author: Samuel Beirne