Joe Biden is heading to the White House with a promise to overturn four years of US retreat on climate action. 

The election was called for Biden on Saturday, as his lead in the swing state of Pennsylvania – where he was born – with 98% of the vote counted put the result beyond dispute. Biden was also pulling ahead in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, putting him on track to win 306 electoral college votes, comfortably above the 270 needed to secure the US presidency.

It marks the end of a four-year assault on environmental protections from the White House under Donald Trump.

Elected on the most ambitious climate platform ever presented by a presidential candidate, Biden promised a $2 trillion clean energy revolution.

He will govern with Kamala Harris as vice president, who has a track record of suing oil companies as former attorney general of California.

But their ability to deliver emissions cuts will be hampered by a disappointing performance for the Democrats in the Senate race. Control of the upper house is expected to come down to two run-offs in Georgia in January.

Biden has promised to rejoin the Paris Agreement — which the US formally left on Wednesday — on his first day in office on 21 January.

The pact requires all countries to present new or improved 2030 climate targets to the UN. As the world’s second highest emitter, the US is critical to meeting the Paris goal of limiting global heating “well below 2C”.

Biden promised to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035 and put the US on track to cut emissions to net zero by 2050. According to Climate Action Tracker, if the US achieves this goal, it will shave 0.1C off global warming by 2100.

The US would follow major Asian emitters China, Japan and South Korea in aiming for net zero, bringing 62% of global CO2 emissions and nearly three quarters of GDP under a carbon neutrality goal.

Guest post from Climate Home News