Bill Gates Wants Climate Efforts to Focus More on 2050 Than 2030
He worries that long-term goals will be imperiled by aiming too much for quicker reductions in emissions
If you’re trying to lose 15 pounds by December, losing 5 pounds by September is a good way to get started. But if you’re trying to save the planet from global warming, things don’t necessarily work that way. Trying to hit the wrong intermediate goals can be counterproductive.
This has become a real issue for the Biden administration. During a virtual climate summit on April 22, President Joe Biden committed to a 2030 goal of reducing net U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to not more than half their 2005 levels. The administration sees this as a step toward the 2050 goal of net-zero emissions, where every ton of emissions added to the atmosphere is offset by a ton being removed.