Biden Pledges Huge Climate Emissions Cuts He Can't Enforce. Here's Why It Still Matters

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

62% : Robbie Orvis, senior director of modeling and analysis at Energy Innovation, said, "Hitting the proposed target would definitely require states to strengthen and pass policy across many states at a level we haven't seen before.
60% : A bipartisan push in Congress to ease permitting rules, which could speed renewable energy installations, hasn't panned out.
57% : An updated policy brief released this week by the Center for Global Sustainability assumes cuts of 54-62 percent based on no further federal action, but more at the state level.
56% : "Before the election, modeling from the University of Maryland's Center for Global Sustainability showed that the U.S. could achieve emissions cuts of 65-67 percent by 2035.
49% : The clean energy tax breaks in Biden's signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, have unleashed billions of dollars for clean energy manufacturing across the U.S.Yet many of those policies are threatened by Trump and congressional Republicans, who have taken aim at government rebates used to lower the cost of buying electric cars and other clean energy incentives.
49% : "Even discussion of repeal and tweaks or cuts have a chilling effect and delay and reduce the pace and scale of investment," said Zach Friedman, senior director of federal policy at Ceres, a business sustainability group.
40% : Other advocates echoed that sentiment, saying it could help guide federal policy after 2028 -- or whenever a climate-focused president takes office.
35% : Instead, the target will likely be jettisoned after Trump takes office, reflecting his promises to expand fossil fuel production and dismantle Biden's climate agenda.
35% : Energy Innovation estimated that the U.S. emissions would fall by just 36 percent by 2035 if the Inflation Reduction Act is fully repealed.
34% : Trump is expected to withdraw from the agreement.
33% : Biden was "laying down a marker" with the new target, said Alden Meyer, a senior associate at the environmental think tank E3G."Everyone understands it's going to be very hard to meet this target, given Trump will take us off the field for the next four years," Meyer said.
26% : The move comes amid increasing pressure on the Biden administration to make urgent environmental commitments in the waning days of the president's term, even if Trump has no intention of honoring them.
20% : The Biden administration approved California's plan to phase out gas-powered cars by 2035 on Wednesday, but Trump has threatened to roll it back.

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