Addressing the climate crisis will be the greatest undertaking in the history of humankind. We have to give it all we have
Joe Biden wants to cut US emissions in half from their 2005 levels. However, since emissions have been slowly declining since then, this amounts to only a 37% drop from 2020 levels.
That, in a nutshell, is the issue. Our leaders are adhering to a template that doesn’t meet the urgency of the moment. The US is not even the world’s largest emitter any more, and China – the biggest polluter – seeks to build more coal-fired power plants, failing to reach carbon neutrality until 2060. Unfortunately, that is a perfect illustration of just how disconnected we are from the gravity of the situation.
Related: In his first 100 days, how has Biden handled the four crises he outlined?
William J Ripple is a climate scientist and the author of World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency