Deval Patrick unveils plan to make U.S. carbon neutral by 2040

Jan. 31 (UPI) --

Still looking for a breakout moment in his late-starting presidential campaign, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick aimed to make a splash Friday with an ambitious climate plan.

Patrick's primary goal in the strategy is for the United States to become carbon neutral by 2040. The plan is called Addressing the Climate Crisis.

He plans to accomplish the goal by creating a national clean energy standard, strengthening corporate average fuel economy standards, allowing more rebates for electric vehicles and developing a national standard for energy efficiency in building codes and construction.

As governor of Massachusetts, I confronted the climate challenge a decade before most political leaders were paying attention to this issue, Patrick said in a statement. We did all this while doubling clean energy jobs in less than a decade. Where others have plans, I have results. And that experience is a useful practical starting point for my plan for a carbon-free future.

Patrick said he would make the United States the global leader in fighting climate change, and will start by rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement that President Donald Trump plans to abandon.

Patrick also said the United States under his plan would limit emissions, reduce global dependence on fossil fuels and bring clean energy into all aspects of American foreign and trade policy.

His plan pledges to end all subsidies supporting the coal, oil and natural gas industries and repurpose those funds, and quadruple U.S. spending on clean and renewable energy research and development.

As president, I will treat the climate crisis with the urgency it demands from the first day forward, as a matter of both domestic and international leadership, Patrick added. I will push immediately for major action, including a mix of incentives and new standards to rapidly catalyze a carbon-free future, as we work in collaboration with nations around the world to address the threat of global climate change.