By Russell Gold, Ruth Bender and Peter Landers
President Biden's move to rejoin the Paris climate accord within
hours of his inauguration was welcomed by world leaders, but
reasserting global leadership -- and meeting the U.S.'s commitments
to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions -- promises to be
challenging.
China and other nations have recently increased their pledges to
do more to tackle climate change, and corporations are heavily
investing in the technology needed to run the global economy with
fewer greenhouse-gas emissions.
But global emissions continue to rise, and groups tracking
progress question whether many of the countries that have signed
the Paris agreement are currently on track to hit the targets they
set to reduce their share.
Still, with China, the European Union and the U.S. all focused
simultaneously on this issue, there was cautious enthusiasm that
progress could be made.
"It's very clear we will only be successful globally if we have
the major players on board," said Markus Beyrer, director general
of BusinessEurope, an umbrella organization for EU national
chambers of commerce. The U.S. return "can bring us back on
track."
The Paris climate agreement is a joint effort to significantly
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in a bid to contain the
rise in global temperatures to no more than 2 degrees Celsius, and
preferably to no more than 1.5 degrees, to limit the impacts of
climate change.
Each signatory to the pact -- signed in 2016 by the U.S. and
more than 190 other countries -- set individual targets to reduce
their emissions by certain dates. The U.S. entered the agreement
under President Barack Obama, then exited under President Donald
Trump, and is now rejoining under Mr. Biden.
Mr. Biden inherits an economy that has been reducing its
emissions, albeit not fast enough to meet its commitments under the
agreement. U.S. emissions have fallen in recent years as the
country has retired a large portion of its coal-burning power-plant
fleet, replacing it with lower-emission natural gas plants as well
as renewable energy from wind and solar farms.
Last year, U.S. emissions were 21.5% below 2005 levels,
according to a preliminary estimate by the energy and economics
research firm Rhodium Group, not on track to meet the country's
target of 26% to 28% reduction by 2025 -- and 80% by 2050.
Global emissions figures, including those of the U.S., fell
sharply in 2020, mostly due to pandemic-related shutdowns of travel
and economic activity. They are expected to rebound this year as
the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines helps restore more-normal levels
of economic activity.
The U.S. isn't alone in making progress but falling short of the
longer-term objectives.
Japan is ahead of schedule to meet its near-term Paris
commitment, but some environmental groups say its self-imposed
target was too lenient and should be increased. The European Union
under the Paris agreement is targeting by 2030 a 40% emissions cut
from a 1990 level and believes it can meet its target. Last fall,
it upped its target to a 55% reduction.
China is also on track to achieve the Paris Agreement goals it
ratified in 2016, but these included continuing to increase its
emissions through 2030. This week, China's National Energy
Administration said the country had added almost 72 gigawatts of
wind power in 2020 -- almost triple the amount compared with the
previous year -- and 48 gigawatts of solar. Still, coal remains a
major source of power generation in China, making up 57.7% of the
country's energy mix in 2019, according to China's statistics
bureau.
Observers say countries are struggling to meet their
commitments, despite these optimistic pronouncements.
"While a turning point in global emissions seems to be within
reach, five years after the Paris Agreement no country is on a path
compliant with the Paris Agreement goals," concluded the Climate
Change Performance Index report issued in December by Germanwatch,
an independent research firm that assesses climate action in
several dozen of the countries with the highest global
emissions.
Under terms of the pact, the countries gather every five years
to assess compliance and, if necessary, ratchet up targets. The
first such meeting is scheduled to take place later this year in
Glasgow. European Union officials, in welcoming the U.S. return to
the Paris agreement, said the meeting would be "a crucial moment to
increase global ambition."
Since the U.S. announced its intention to withdraw from the
Paris accord in November 2019, several nations have stepped up
their goals. The European Union increased its target to cut
greenhouse-gas emissions and pledged to become completely carbon
neutral by 2050. Last year, China pledged that its carbon-emissions
would peak by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060.
That has raised pressure on Mr. Biden's new administration to
make a similar pledge to accelerate greenhouse-gas emissions cuts
and provide a policy framework to reach the goal. Such a move could
inspire other nations to follow suit.
"I hope that the United States will not simply rejoin the
agreement but will also be a leader for the world with strong
actions," said Takeshi Niinami, chief executive of Suntory Holdings
Ltd. and an adviser to Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. "With
bold commitment from this world leader, we can hope to see other
countries follow suit and notably move the needle."
Rebecca Henderson, an economist and university professor at
Harvard University, said the Biden administration has its work cut
out.
"In order for this to be something more than simply a nice
gesture, the U.S. has to begin seriously reducing its carbon
emissions and putting in place the kind of policies and regulation
that will ensure that progress continues," she said. Passing an
infrastructure stimulus bill with a significant carbon-emission
reduction component would "go a long way to increasing the U.S.'s
credibility."
During the campaign for president, Mr. Biden talked about the
need to make large investments in renewable energy and electric
vehicles. On his first day, he took several steps to reverse Trump
administration policies that loosened environmental restrictions.
Mr. Biden revoked a key permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline and
ordered a review of policies that suggests he supports tougher
emissions standards of power plants and increased fuel-efficiency
for auto makers.
While Mr. Biden faces challenges in enacting an ambitious plan
to reduce greenhouse gases, including a thin majority in Congress,
the U.S. business community increasingly supports actions on
climate. Last fall, the Business Roundtable said it supported the
U.S.'s Paris commitment and endorsed a price on carbon
emissions.
"We are pleased and proud to support the United States re-entry
to the Paris Climate Agreement, and we hope that everyone shares
our optimism that this is a fresh start for a common cause," said
Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Co.
--Noemie Bisserbe, Daniel Michaels and Sha Hua contributed to
this article.
Write to Russell Gold at russell.gold@wsj.com, Ruth Bender at
Ruth.Bender@wsj.com and Peter Landers at peter.landers@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 21, 2021 14:53 ET (19:53 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.