The United States Mid-Century Strategy for Deep Decarbonization seeks to achieve rapid emissions reductions while maintaining robust economic growth. The instrument sets out policies and strategic measures to ensure global action on climate change. Its visions is to achieve greenhouse gas emissions reductions of at least 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. The strategy defines three policy priorities: 1) Transform to a low-carbon energy system; 2) Sequester carbon through forests, soils and CO2 removal technologies; 3) Reduce Non CO2 emissions. Sequestering carbon through forests and soil encompasses actions to: ramp up durable private land carbon incentives to support forest carbon enhancing activities and soil carbon sequestration, underpinned by science based carbon accounting protocols and policy frameworks; quickly scale up forest restoration and expansion on federal lands; reduce land use competition and land use change through research and policies in order to increase working land productivity and promote smart urban development. Special attention is given to afforestation and reforestation; avoiding forest conversion; improving forest management (including replanting following harvest (especially in areas that rely on natural regeneration) or natural disturbance, denser tree planting, increased fertilization and irrigation to increase forest growth rates, controlling competing vegetation, and using faster-growing tree species or varieties); minimizing carbon loss due to natural disturbances; wood products to offset fossil fuel-intensive construction material; biomass for energy. The MCS analysis points to a set of robust elements for the transition to a low-GHG pathway that can guide for achieving deep decarbonization: a) Increasing efficiency across the energy system; b) Electricity produced almost entirely from clean generation sources by 2050; c) Broad utilization of clean electricity and low-carbon fuels across the buildings, industry, and transportation sectors; d) Maintain and potentially enhance the land carbon sink, ensuring that U.S. landscapes continue to sequester substantial amounts of carbon; e) Develop CO2 removal technologies that sequester and store carbon; f) Reduce non-CO2 GHG emissions, despite growth in the activity levels of major sources.
United States of America · 2016-11-01