In summary, a strong case can be made that the US emissions reduction commitment for 2025 of 26 % to 28 % clearly fails to pass minimum ethical scrutiny when one considers: (a) the 2007 IPCC report
on which the US likely relied upon to establish a 80 % reduction target by 2050 also called for 25 % to 40 % reduction by developed countries by 2020, and (b) although
reasonable people may disagree with what «equity» means under the UNFCCC, the US commitments can't be reconciled with any
reasonable interpretation of what «equity» requires, (c) the United States has expressly acknowledged that its commitments are
based upon what can be achieved under existing US law not
on what is required of it as a mater of justice, (d) it is clear that more ambitious US commitments have been
blocked by arguments that alleged unacceptable costs to the US economy, arguments which have ignored US responsibilities to those most vulnerable to climate change, and (e) it is virtually certain that the US commitments can not be construed to be a fair allocation of the remaining carbon budget that is available for the entire world to limit warming to 2 °C.