PRESIDENT BIDEN’S CLIMATE PLAN

President Biden’s climate plan is ambitious, but achievable, many experts believe. On April 22, Earth Day, Biden announced a national goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by up to 52% by 2030, compared with 2005 levels.

Biden has also set goals of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions in the power sector by 2035 and in the overall economy by 2050. Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment describes five different scenarios for reaching these goals

Scenario 1: High Electrification

• Nearly full electrification of transport and buildings by 2050
• No land-use change for biomass supply allowed
• Few other constraints on energy supply options

Scenario 2: Less-High Electrification

• Less-rapid electrification of transport and buildings
• No land-use change for biomass supply allowed
• Few other constraints on energy supply options

Scenario 3: High Biomass

• Less-rapid electrification of transport and buildings
• Biomass supply requires converting some agricultural land from food to energy crops
• Few other constraints on energy supply options

Scenario 4: Renewable Constrained

• Nearly full electrification of transport and buildings by 2050
• Solar and wind power annual capacity additions constrained to historical maximum
• No land-use change for biomass supply allowed
• Few other constraints on energy supply options

Scenario 6: 100% Renewable

• Nearly full electrification of transport and buildings by 2050
• No fossil fuel use allowed by 2050
• No land-use change for biomass supply allowed
• No new nuclear power construction allowed, existing plants retired
• No underground storage of CO2 allowed