Under this methodology of all 193 UN Member States – an expansive model of 17 categories, or “goals,” many of them focused on the environment and equity – the U.S. ranks below Thailand, Cuba, Romania and more that are widely regarded as developing countries.
In 2022, America was 41st. Interesting to see where it will be after this term of office, which looks set to be working against many of these aims.
Fossil fuels are already protected and subsidized beyond economic sensibility for the profitably of oil barons and corrupt polliticians. Until the oil barons cannot afford bribery and still turn a profit the USA will be hooked is what I’m getting at. They’d rather keep the exploitation going until collapse happens than find a way to transition to cleaner energy sources.
Edit: I’d also like to add, it isn’t just fossil fuels setting the USA back, it’s also the development pattern. Even if everything went electric today with green energy, the USA would be wasting tons of that energy due to cultural and devlopmental patterns. This isn’t just an oil issue, it is also a land use, zoning, gabage/waste and 100s of other things that are just so damm profitable we can’t stop.
It is beyond that. There are several states where fossil fuels are important to the local economy and voters there will vote against anything killing these industries.