WASHINGTON: Former Vice President Joe Biden released a plan on Tuesday to address climate change that included reversing Trump administration corporate tax cuts to help fund investment needed to achieve 100per cent clean energy and net-zero emissions by 2050.
In his plan, Biden focuses on re-committing the United States to the Paris Climate Agreement - reversing President Donald Trump's planned withdrawal - and re-engaging with other major emitting countries like China to adopt more ambitious emission-reduction targets. It also seeks to appeal to activist groups, who have been pressing Democratic candidates to support the Green New Deal, a non-binding Congressional resolution calling for an end to US fossil fuels and drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions use within 10 years, accompanied by social programs to boost jobs and guarantee healthcare.
It lists several other measures that would build on Obama-era policies like regulating methane emissions from oil and gas facilities, developing new fuel economy standards for cars, adopting new energy efficiency standards for appliances and promoting advanced biofuels. Biden also said the US would engage in international efforts started by the Obama administration to tackle emissions from aviation and shipping, as well as engage with China to stop financing fossil fuel infrastructure projects domestically and overseas.