President Biden convened a virtual climate-change summit with other world leaders on Thursday and kicked things off with an ambitious pledge. Biden said the US would cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 when compared to 2005 levels. In a stark contrast to the views of predecessor Donald Trump, Biden called climate change the "existential crisis of our times," per the Washington Post.
- Just how ambitious is Biden's goal? Axios notes one estimate that the US is currently on track to reduce emissions by 12% before the end of the decade, meaning substantial new policies would have to be enacted to reach his target of 50% to 52%. The shift from fossil fuels to newer forms of energy would have to be greatly accelerated.