A general view of GE Renewable Energy wind turbines at the 324MW Clines Corner Wind Farm For the first time, nations around the globe have resolved together at the U.N. climate summit to “transition away” from the use of fossil fuels to curb how much the planet warms due to human activity. Though the new agreement struck at COP28 in Dubai leaves many questions unanswered, slashing global greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade has already been established as a crucial target to mitigate otherwise unavoidable catastrophe. WATCH: Nations at COP28 agree to transition away from fossil fuels, but loopholes remain The Biden administration has committed to this goal , but so far the United States, one of the world’s top emitters , isn’t on track. Halving emissions by 2030 would require “five times the pace of [current annual] emissions reductions,” said John Bistline, a program manager in the Energy Systems and Climate Analysis group at the Electric Power Research Institute. As that deadline looms just six years away, experts say the nation has options to make the major changes and investments necessary to meet that target, especially by focusing on emissions reduction efforts within its top-polluting economic sectors. At COP28 – the annual international conference that wrapped up Wednesday – world climate negotiators approved a document, known as the global stocktake, that pledges for the first time to move away from the use of fuels like oil, gas and coal, though critics note it contains significant loopholes . Nations also agreed that in order to limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures, global greenhouse gas emissions would have to be reduced by 43 percent by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. Though the 2015 goal to cap warming at 1.5°C remains intact, the central document […]
Click here to visit source. How to slash emissions across the U.S. economy, according to experts