President Joe Biden sets new US climate target just weeks before Donald Trump takes office
President Joe Biden has set fresh climate targets for the United States before climate sceptic Donald Trump takes office in January.
Today the outgoing president has unveiled a new goal to slash US emissions of greenhouse gases by 61% from 2005 levels by 2035.
The 10-year plan should generate “more good-paying jobs, more affordable energy, cleaner air, cleaner water, healthier environments for everyone”, President Biden said.
“I’m proud that my administration is carrying out the boldest climate agenda in American history,” he added, citing his Inflation Reduction Act that poured hundreds of billions of dollars into green industries.
Joe Biden has made a last attempt to influence US climate policy on his way out of power. Pic: Reuters
In reality, Donald Trump is expected to undo many green policies intended to tackle climate change when he takes office on 20 January.
But virtually every country in the world is bound by the Paris climate agreement (Mr Trump pulled the US out of the deal in his first term) to publish a new 2035 climate goal by February next year, along with a plan to reach it, known as an NDC (nationally determined contribution).
Most countries – apart from a handful including the UK – are yet to publish their NDCs.
The Biden administration was keen to drive through the US plan before Mr Trump takes office.
President-elect Trump questions well-established climate science and has previously called climate change a “hoax”, though he was less vocal about it this year.
He is expected to ignore climate goals and again pull the US out of the landmark Paris treaty, which President Biden ensured the US rejoined at the start of his term.
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Climate fight ‘bigger than one election’
New target intended as a ‘North Star’
The new target is not legally binding, but President Biden’s team said it would guide states, businesses and organisations continuing with climate action during Mr Trump’s second term.
US climate envoy John Podesta said: “American climate leadership is determined by so much more than whoever sits in the Oval Office”.
He pointed to the fact that during the last Trump presidency, governments, businesses and investors formed the America Is Still In coalition to continue with climate action. Today the group has 5,000 members.
John Podesta at COP29 in Baku this year. Pic: AP
New York governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said the new goal would “serve as our North Star, guiding us in the years to come and keeping America on track toward a cleaner, safer future”.
However, Gautam Jain, from the Centre for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, said without new incentives, he was “not sure how much the target would change” among businesses and investors.
Especially as even the current incentives under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act haven’t been enough to put the US on course to reach its interim 2030 target, he said, while action at state level would have carried on regardless.
But although there “may be no immediate impact”, the target would “lay the groundwork” for the next president in 2029 to quickly resume climate action, he added.
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How has Donald Trump responded?
Karoline Leavitt, a Donald Trump spokeswoman who will become the youngest-ever White House press secretary when he takes office, declined to comment on the target.
But she said during his previous 2016-2020 term, he produced “affordable, reliable energy for consumers along with stable, high-paying jobs for small businesses – all while dropping US carbon emissions to their lowest level in 25 years”.
While emissions did fall during Mr Trump’s first term, the rate of the fall slowed down, and part of the drop was attributed to a recession.
In his second term, Mr Trump will “once again deliver clean air and water for American families while Making America Wealthy Again”, Ms Leavitt added.
US climate action has global ramifications
President Biden’s new plan covers all greenhouse gases from across the US economy, and puts the country on track to reach net zero emissions by 2050, the White House said.
The course the US charts on climate action will have global ramifications. It is the largest historical emitter and second-largest current emitter.
And as it is the world’s richest country, other countries look to it to either set the bar high for others to aim for, or provide cover for them to sit back.
Debbie Weyl, acting US director at the World Resources Institute, said: “The 2035 emissions reduction target is at the lower bound of what the science demands, and yet it is close to the upper bound of what is realistic if nearly every available policy lever were pulled.
“Assertive action by states and cities will be essential to achieving this goal.”
At the COP29 climate summit, the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled the UK’s new climate goal to slash emissions by 81% by 2035.
Former US president Joe Biden has prostate cancer, his office has said.
The statement said Mr Biden, who left the White House in January, is reviewing options for treatment with his physicians.
It read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
File pic: Reuters
According to Cancer Research UK, a Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and the disease is “likely to grow quickly”.
A source familiar with Mr Biden and his family’s thinking has told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that the former president is considering “multiple treatment options” – including hormone treatment for the cancer.
They added he is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that as of now, it is unclear where the former president will be treated.
Mr Biden, 82, was the oldest person to ever serve as president, with concerns about his health raised regularly during his campaign for re-election last year.
After a poor debate against Donald Trump in June, he withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris.
In February 2023, he had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.
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A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
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One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.
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