Pathways to net-zero emissions; climate change in our National Parks

How can we get to net-zero emissions by 2050? And, can we save our National Parks from climate change?

Listen 0:00
Three of Deepwater Wind's five turbines stand in the water off Block Island

File photo: Three of Deepwater Wind's five turbines stand in the water off Block Island, R.I, the nation's first offshore wind farm. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

 

President Biden has set a climate goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. But is that really feasible? A recent Princeton report lays out five different pathways to get the U.S. to that net-zero target with infrastructure and renewable energy investments like wind and solar and carbon capture technologies. Princeton professor JESSE JENKINS walks us through the different routes, the costs and tradeoffs. Then, climate change is altering our National Parks in fundamental ways, Glacier’s glacier is melting, Sequoia’s trees are facing too many wildfires and lighthouses are facing rising tides. We’ll talk about how the changing park ecosystems and the painful choices that the park service is having to make around conservation with the PATTY GLICK, a senior scientist of climate adaptation at the National Wildlife Federation and a lead author of a new park service climate planning guide.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal