Energy stakeholders endorsed President Biden’s strengthening of U.S. climate change commitments on Thursday, but they also stressed the importance of natural gas in achieving deep decarbonization of the economy.

Biden said Thursday the United States will target a 50-52% reduction in economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 2030 versus 2005 levels.

The announcement, made during the virtually held Leaders Summit on Climate, doubles a previous U.S. commitment of a 26-28% reduction under the 2015 United Nations (UN) Climate Agreement, aka the Paris Agreement.

Each country’s commitment, submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, is known formally as the country’s nationally determined contribution or NDC.

“The United States is not waiting, the...