A US domestic emissions reduction target of 70% by 2030 is ambitious but achievable. Many activists are aiming for figures closer to 100% by 2030, as per the IPCC’s advice that global emissions must hit zero by 2050, and the conviction that the US, an extremely wealthy country, must help lead the way. We agree on the latter point, but given that some fear such cuts would not be achievable without debilitating backlash, our collective agreement is that 70% reductions are acceptable as one portion of a fair share effort that includes international action in addition.
This is a deliberately rough figure. We could have used the 71% figure the Bernie Sanders’ campaign chose in its Green New Deal proposal [1], but we believe this round number is more appropriate. For recent evidence that action on this scale is achievable (given as sufficiently robust “wartime” mobilization) see the widely respected Rewiring America report. [2]
Also, this is a territorial figure that does not take the emissions “embodied” in imported and exported goods into account. There are important equity issues associated with such embodied emission, but they are outside the scope of this analysis.
[1] The Green New Deal, https://berniesanders.com/issues/green-new-deal/
[2] Mobilizing for a zero carbon America: Jobs, jobs, jobs, and more jobs, Rewiring America. July 2020, https://www.rewiringamerica.org/jobs-report