This article discusses the importance of the U.S. commitment to reducing emissions due to both their responsibility and influence. The article explains that asking developing countries to stop emitting when the U.S. has already benefited from the use of fossil fuels is not fair, especially when those who have emitted the least greenhouse gases will suffer the most from climate change impacts. The video Who Is Responsible For Climate Change? – Who Needs To Fix It? can help illustrate this point. The article talks about the U.S. pulling out of the Paris Agreement in 2016 under President Trump, re-entering into the agreement under President Biden in 2021, and the worldwide environmental consequences that stemmed from this. Students can discuss the subsequent 2025 Trump administration and discuss or predict the implications of pulling out of the Paris Agreement again. The Climate Politics course can help students learn more about the Paris Agreement and other examples of climate policy.
Written By: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
The MIT Climate Change Engagement Program, a part of MIT Climate HQ, provides the public with nonpartisan, easy-to-understand, and scientifically-grounded information on climate change and its solutions.
Today, U.S. climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions account for roughly 14 percent of the worldwide total. That fraction could shrink in the coming decades, because the United States has made significant investments in clean energy and electric vehicles, while reducing its use of climate-polluting fossil fuels. Already, emissions have been falling in the U.S. over roughly the last two decades.
Some other regions have shown similar trends. Fossil fuel use in the European Union has been dropping since 1990, and emissions peaked in 1979.
Meanwhile, fossil fuel use in some other countries is climbing. China is now the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and in 2022 approved more coal plants than the rest of the world combined. India is the third largest emitter, and while it’s well behind China and the U.S, its emissions are rising quickly.
