The report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that an estimated 3% to 14% of all land species may face a high risk of extinction at 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming. (Adobe Stock)

Listen to the report HERE.

By Emily Scott

March 1, 2022   

Ahead of tonight’s State of the Union address and on the heels of a new United Nations’ climate change report, a new analysis found clean-energy investments from the Build Back Better Act would put the country on track to meet carbon emissions-reduction goals.

Compiled by Princeton University’s ZERO Lab, the report revealed enacting the climate provisions of the trillion-dollar package would cut emissions by an accumulative 5.2 billion tons between now and 2030.

Jesse Jenkins, principal investigator of the Princeton ZERO Lab and the report’s co-author, said federal policy action is needed to meet climate targets.

“In addition to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, the set of energy investment and jobs’ proposals in the Build Back Better Act also would lower U.S. annual energy expenditures,” Jenkins explained. “Helping to fight or counteract inflationary forces that are driving up costs for households and businesses across the United States.”

The Princeton report also showed elements of Build Back Better would reduce household energy costs for New Yorkers by $100 annually. The future of the bill remains in peril as some Senate lawmakers say it is too ambitious, and have criticized provisions such as paid family leave, because of the cost.

Shannon Heyck Williams, senior director of the climate and energy program for the National Wildlife Federation, said combined with the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law, the Build Back Better Act would help get the country close to its midcentury climate goals and help prevent the global environmental threats researchers warned about in the report.

“They’re essential, supported by the public, and would leverage infrastructure bill spending to get innovative technologies to market, restore ecosystems that boost resilience and suck up carbon, clean up legacy pollution and position the U.S. for global competitiveness in the zero-carbon economy,” Heyck Williams outlined.

The New York Climate Action Council recently released a draft scoping plan to help the state meet its greenhouse-gas emissions-reduction goals. Some measures included increasing the use of public transportation and electrifying heating pumps. Residents have 120 days from Jan. 1 to submit public comments.

Disclosure: National Wildlife Federation contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Endangered Species and Wildlife, Energy Policy, Environment, Public Lands/Wilderness, Salmon Recovery, and Water. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.

References:  

Climate change report IPCC 02/28/2022
Climate policy report Princeton Univ. 02/28/2022
House Resolution 5376 2022
House Resolution 3684 (2021) 11/15/2021
Climate action plan N.Y. Dept. of Environmental Conservation 12/30/2021