By Yamide Dagnet,
Joe Biden's victory in the U.S. election is very good news for efforts to advance climate action within the United States and around the world. The outcome is also validation that America wants a future that is guided by truth, science, and justice. Case in point: a Fox News exit poll found that over 70 percent of U.S. voters support stronger climate action and want their country to invest more in renewable energy.
Biden made climate action one of the four pillars of his policy agenda and he understands how climate action interlinks with rebuilding the economy, addressing environmental justice and protecting the health and economic well-being of American citizens.
The international community expects the Biden-Kamala Harris administration to lead the way on climate action in three ways.
First, the United States should deliver a climate-smart stimulus package that enables the country to build back better from COVID-19. This recovery plan should prioritize economic relief to those hardest-hit by the economic fallout from the virus and create good-paying jobs. COVID recovery packages passed under the administration of President Donald Trump have neglected the clean energy sector which has lost over 600,000 jobs. That is a huge missed opportunity. Investments in renewable energy and energy-efficiency produce nearly three times as many jobs as funding fossil fuels per dollar spent.
The Biden-Harris administration should seize on this economic opportunity, while also modernizing the U.S. electricity grid, improving the transportation system and restoring degraded lands, among many other measures.
Second, the United States must rebuild trust and credibility with the global community. A first step is by re-entering the Paris Agreement on his first day in office. But that is the easy part. Just as importantly, Biden needs to translate his commitment to a net-zero emissions economy by 2050 into an ambitious shorter-term 2030 emission reduction target.
The World Resources Institute suggests that the United States commit to reduce its emissions by around 45-50 percent by 2030 compared with 2005 levels. This goal is both ambitious and achievable and would build on the amazing climate leadership that U.S. states, cities and businesses have shown over the last four years. Japan can take a similar approach and translate its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 to a more ambitious 2030 emission reduction target.
Third, the Biden-Harris administration needs to increase its financial support for climate solutions to help developing countries cut emissions and adapt to increasingly severe climate impacts. This will include delivering on the outstanding $2 billion of the U.S. pledge to the Green Climate Fund in 2014, and hopefully doubling its original pledge as many other countries such as Germany, France, Norway and Britain have done. The United States should also encourage efforts to stop financing for coal and other fossil fuel infrastructure abroad.
Nelson Mandela once said, "After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb." There is no doubt that reaching a net-zero future will come with challenges, but we have the tools and resources necessary to get there. One of the resources to help along the way is the new Platform for Redesign 2020 which shared best practices for more climate-smart recoveries from COVID-19.
But countries should also take any opportunities in fora outside the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change such as the International Maritime Organization and International Civil Aviation Organization to progress the implementation of the Paris Agreement with the same determination and in a coherent manner, rather than undermining it.
We need to create a new sustainable and inclusive economy for the 21st century, not return to last century's old, polluting and zero-sum game approach. By doing so we will simultaneously improve public health, drive economic growth and ensure a brighter future for us all.
(Yamide Dagnet is a director, climate negotiations of the World Resources Institute)
