A top administration official on Monday acknowledged that the United States is not “on track to meet our international climate goals” and said the administration is “not on track to do that.”
| AP Photo White House press secretary: ‘We’re not on track’ to meet emissions reduction goals The White House has been touting the United Nations Paris Agreement, which promises to cut global warming emissions by 27 percent to 28 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, as a major success.
The administration has been trying to convince Americans that the deal is a good deal.
The U.S. has pledged to phase out coal by 2025, to use carbon capture and storage, to reduce methane emissions from coal plants and to phase down its use of hydrofluorocarbons.
It has also pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power plants by 40 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times published Monday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the country has yet to meet the commitments that it has made.
“We’re still not on pace to meet what we promised, to achieve what we said we would do, and to keep pace with our obligations,” Spicer said.
Spicer also said the United Nation has “not met” its own Paris climate goals, adding, “I think that’s a mistake.”
Trump administration tries to deflect from Trump’s Paris promise, says it doesn’t want to be seen as a ‘loser’ On Monday, the Trump White House issued a statement denying that it had given any indication that the U.N. had not met its Paris commitments, saying the administration had been working to make the case for the agreement.
Trump’s administration also claimed that “there is nothing that we’ve done in this administration that indicates we’re not going to be meeting the goals of Paris,” adding that the administration was “committed to keeping the promise of Paris.”
The White House said the U.”s position on climate change has been consistent over the last two decades, and it has been clear that we have a commitment to reducing greenhouse gases.”
Spicer said that the Trump team was “fully committed” to the Paris accord and that the president had been making the case to the world about the need to meet climate change goals.