Benson will serve as Deputy Director for Energy and Chief Strategist for the Energy Transition at OSTP.
Benson has been at Stanford University since 2007 and is co-director of the Stanford Center for Carbon Storage and the Stanford Carbon Removal Initiative. According to Stanford University, she studies “technologies and avenues for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including geologic storage of CO2 in deep underground formations and analysis of energy systems for a low-carbon future”.
The creation of the new division underscores the Biden administration’s commitment to tackling the global climate crisis. The president has said he wants the United States to lead the world in the fight against the climate crisis and has committed the United States to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50%-52% by 2030 from 2005 emissions levels Is.
The biggest piece of Biden’s massive economic spending bill – the centerpiece of his domestic agenda – focuses on the climate. The bill, which was passed by the House of Representatives but could have further changes in the Senate, would distribute about $570 billion in tax credits and investments aimed at combating climate change. The bill was majorly sidelined from Biden’s initial proposal, but provides a significant victory for the administration on climate.
In addition, the new infrastructure law recently signed by Biden allocates nearly $50 billion for climate resilience, including replacing roads to withstand extreme rainfall, treating forests to prevent wildfires and Including shore up reservoirs that this year sank to new levels amid an incredible drought.
The President’s Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry, at a recent major summit in Glasgow, set out the Biden administration’s four main climate goals: increasing global ambition on controlling temperature rise; Committing countries to take action in this decade; Advancing finance and adaptation efforts for vulnerable communities; and the completion of negotiations on the implementation guidelines of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Kerry, who was then-President Barack Obama’s secretary of state and has long worked on climate issues, is a cabinet-level official in Biden’s administration and sits on the National Security Council.
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