US pledges to halve its emissions by 2030 as Biden opens climate summit

Washington: The Biden administration on Thursday pledged to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, a new target it hopes will spur other big emitter countries to raise their ambition to combat climate change.

The United States, the world's second-leading emitter after China, seeks to reclaim global leadership in the fight against global warming after former President Donald Trump withdrew the country from international efforts to cut emissions. President Joe Biden unveiled the goal to cut emissions by 50%-52% from 2005 levels at the start of a two-day virtual climate summit. "This is the decade we must make decisions that will avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis," Biden said at the White House.