President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday unveiled a new climate target under the landmark Paris accord, just weeks before Donald Trump’s return to the White House threatens to upend US efforts to combat global warming. According to a White House Statement, the United States commits to reducing economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 61-66 percent below 2005 levels by 2035, reflecting the world’s second-largest polluter’s goal of limiting long-term heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius. “I’m proud that my administration is carrying out the boldest climate agenda in American history,” Biden said in a video statement hailing the new measures, aimed at keeping the United States on the path to net zero emissions by 2050. “We will turn this existential threat into a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform our nation for generations to come.” But his climate legacy hangs in the balance, with Trump’s second term expected to bring sweeping rollbacks of environmental protections and a retreat from international commitments, including the Paris Agreement, mirroring his first term. “In his first term, President Trump advanced conservation and environmental stewardship while promoting economic growth for families,” Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to AFP. She added Trump’s policies “produced affordable, reliable energy for consumers along with stable, high-paying jobs” and vowed that his second term “will once again deliver clean air and water for American families while Making America Wealthy Again.”