Will the US Rejoining the Paris Agreement Boost Climate Actions Worldwide?

The Biden administration has given an additional boost to global climate actions. On his first day of office, President Biden signed 17 executive actions, two of which have significant implications for climate change.

The first is aimed at the US rejoining the Paris Agreement, which means America will produce a plan to reduce its emissions. The second is to end the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Both actions gained the praise of climate advocates and presented a symbolic significance to the world.

By rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, America will improve its previous commitment to the Paris Agreement to reduce emissions.  President Biden will commit to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, reflected in their economy and society for decades.

President Biden is overturning his predecessor’s policy on climate change by halting the keystone pipeline and rejoining the Paris Accord. The former president’s stand on climate change is unclear and sometimes confusing. If anything, he took pride in the US energy independence, where the country became energy-independent in 2019 for the first time since 1957. An enormous contribution came from hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling to free up natural gas and oil (IER, 2020).

The planned Keystone pipeline will extend to 1790 miles or 1897 km and carry 830,000 barrels of oil daily from Alberta, Canada, to Nebraska. The Obama administration blocked the development in 2015, but President Trump overturned it and allowed the project to go ahead for the following reasons: reduced dependency on Middle Eastern supplies and increased oil availability through the pipeline will mean lower prices for consumers.

Environmental advocates have long protested this project because of the ecological and health risks, such as leaks and spillage. Developing Alberta’s oil sands will not curb the use of fossil fuels and their emissions, contributing to climate change. Environment Canada and the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) saw these environmental implications and advised against this project.

Since Obama’s administration and its opposition to the pipeline, the world has changed so much, and climate issues will play a role in economics, security, and even politics. Governments are pushing for clean and renewable energy sources and breaking away from fossil fuels.

Prof Michael Gerrard of the Columbia University Sabin Center for Climate Change Laws came up with top three suggestions for the Biden administration on how they should meet their Paris Agreement targets, which are essentially restoring the Obama policies to boost climate actions:

1. Strengthening the missions and fuel economy standards, recognizing that motor vehicles are the largest source of GHG.
2. Controlling methane gas leakage during natural gas production, transport, and processing.
3. Re-establish the Clean Power Plan or something similar that Obama created to reduce coal-fired power plant emissions. Trump revoked it and replaced it with the Affordable Clean Energy Rule.

Making climate change a priority and tackling the root causes of rising temperatures can mitigate other problems. Climate solutions can boost the economy and create jobs.

The present administration’s priorities include increasing the use and manufacturing of electric vehicles, building more charging infrastructure, constructing high-speed railways, and improving energy efficiency in homes and offices.