President Joe Biden issued a call to action to world leaders on Thursday, asking them to work together to keep the earth’s temperature from rising too high in the next decade, arguing it would result in new jobs and economic opportunities.
‘The signs are unmistakable. The science is undeniable. The cost of inaction is mounting,’ he said in his speech kicking off his Climate Summit.
‘This is a moral imperative, an economic imperative,’ Biden argued. ‘Time is short, but I believe we can do this. And I believe that we will do. Thank you for being part of the summit.’
In his remarks, Biden stressed the importance of working together but also emphasized combatting climate change can create jobs and boost economies.
He spoke from the East Room of the White House, which was decorated with plants and greenery. Vice President Kamala Harris introduced him and he was joined by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and climate czar John Kerry. The attendees from around the world, joining him virtually, were on a screen in front of him.
Biden vowed the US would do its part, pledging the country will cut emissions blamed for climate change by 50 to 52 percent by 2030 compared with 2005 levels and to set America on a path of zero emissions economy by no later than 2015.
‘No nation can solve this crisis on our own, as I know you all fully understand all of us, all of us and particularly those of us who represent the world’s largest economies. We have to step up,’ he said.
President Joe Biden issued a call to action to world leaders, asking them to work together to combat climate change as he kicked off Climate Summit
All 40 world leaders invited by the White House were in attendance, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, who addressed the summit
The world leaders joined the Climate Summit virtually
Biden argued taking action now would ‘set the world up for success, protect livelihoods around the world and keep global warming at a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius. We must get on the path now, in order to do that.’
‘If we do will breathe easier, literally, and figuratively,’ he said. ‘We’ll create good jobs here at home for millions of Americans and lay a strong foundation with growth in the future.’
His summit kicked off with a slick video about planet earth, where astronauts like Neil Armstrong talk about seeing it from space and how it suffers from global warming. There were a few technical glitches – Harris’ audio had an echo when she spoke, making it difficult to decipher her remarks, and there were dial tones when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke.
All 40 world leaders invited by the White House were in attendance on Thursday, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, who addressed the summit, and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
But there will be no one-on-one conversations taking place on the sidelines after the US slapped additional sanctions on Russia and Biden has vowed to take on China.
There will be ‘no bilaterals or side zoom rooms that are happening,’ a senior administration official told reporters on a call previewing Thursday and Friday’s virtual summit.
The meeting marks Biden’s first face-to-face meetings with the two leaders – whom he has spoken to on the phone – since he took office.
The United States issued a series of economic sanctions on Moscow last week because of Russian interference in American elections, the SolarWinds cyber attack, and its aggressive actions in the Ukraine. The White House argues any domestic interference or interference with foreign allies is a threat to the US.
Biden said he warned Putin a phone call they could have been worse but he ‘chose to be proportionate’ in his response.
In addition to rising tensions with the Kremlin, US-China relations have been rocky since Biden took office.
The president passed his $1.9 trillion America Rescue Plan and is now pushing a $2 trillion infrastructure package as he struggles to repair the US economy and make it competitive with Beijing.
Biden, in selling his infrastructure plan, said it will put the US ‘in a position to win the global competition with China in the upcoming years.’
The State Department released a full schedule of the summit, which will take place virtually Thursday and Friday.
In addition to the president and world leaders, several Cabinet secretaries and business leaders will attend.
Speakers include Pope Francis, Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, World Bank President David Malpas, and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser.
President Joe Biden, center, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, right, listen during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, from the East Room of the White House
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on his fellow leaders to get ‘serious’ about combatting climate change
Pope Francis will be among the speakers at Biden’s Climate Summit, he will address the group on Thursday
Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg will be among the business leaders addressing the summit
With the summit, Biden is seeking to revive a U.S.-convened forum of the world’s major economies on climate that George W. Bush and Barack Obama both used and Donald Trump let languish.
The new US target on emissions aims to ‘challenge the world on increasing ambition and combatting the climate crisis,’ an administration official said on a briefing call with reporters.
Combined with announcements expected by other leaders, the official said the world will be closer – but not yet on track – to keeping the planet’s temperature within 2.7 Fahrenheit above pre-industrial times, the level scientists say is needed to avoid the most severe effects of climate change.
‘Over half the world’s economy is now moving to cut emissions at a global pace needed to keep 1.5 C in reach,’ the official said. ‘Our coalition is growing.’
Japan said Thursday it aims to cut emissions 46 percent by 2030 — significantly more than previously pledged — and Canada is expected to follow suit. Both countries have forged early bonds with Biden.
Biden’s action raises the pressure on China – by far the world’s largest carbon emitter.
In his remarks to the summit, Chin’s President Xi Jinping reiterated his country’s pledge to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.
‘We must be committed to green development. To improve the environment is to boost productivity,’ he said.
Xi said developed countries, responsible for greater historical carbon emissions, should bear more responsibility for making changes at home and helping developing countries finance their transition to low-carbon economies.
Xi emphasized that China is aiming to move from peak carbon to net zero in a short time period – just 30 years, or the span of one generation.
In his remarks, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said the world is ‘at the verge of the abyss’ because of climate change and must take aggressive steps to avoid catastrophe.
He called for world leaders to build a global coalition for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 – ‘every country, every region, every city, every company and every industry.’
Britain in November will host a UN conference in Glasgow that aims to upgrade the 2015 Paris Agreement.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Wednesday a goal for the UK to cut emissions by 78 per cent by 2035.
A UN report late last year said that the world was on course for warming of three degrees Celsius — a level at which the planet is forecast to see many glaciers and ice caps melt, low-lying areas submerged and increasingly severe droughts, floods and disasters that could trigger famine and mass migration.
