Joe Biden opens climate summit with ambitious pledge to advance a green economy

WASHINGTON.- United States President Joe Biden to pledge to try to reach a new and aggressive target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in his message at the virtual summit of leaders convened by the White House, which will begin this Thursday, and in which the president will speak Alberto Fernandez, Pope Francisco and the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva.

The summit, which will bring together 40 leaders, and Biden’s announcement will aim to reintegrate the United States into the global debate on climate change after a four-year absence under the presidency of Donald Trump. The meeting will also aim to broaden political consensus to raise the ambition of the global response to the crisis triggered by global warming. ahead of the next meeting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) to be held next November in Glasgow, Scotland.

On Thursday, on the first day of the summit, Biden plans to announce that the United States intends to cut global warming-related gas emissions by at least half by 2030 from 2005 levels, a an ambitious goal for which the world’s leading power will have to face. deep reforms of its economy, according to local media.

The summit, which begins on Earth Day, will bring together all G-20 leaders, including the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and Russian, Vladimir Poutine, with whom the Biden administration enjoys a strained relationship amid growing rivalry with the United States. Besides Alberto Fernández and the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, they will also participate Sebastian piñera, from Chile, e Ivan Duque, Columbia.

For Fernández, the summit will be an opportunity to present Argentina’s goals – and demands – in the first global forum that he will share with Biden, whose support is key to concluding a new agreement with the Fund. Official sources told LA NACION that Fernández will ratify the commitments made by Argentina and ask for improved access to international finance, supported by multilateral organizations, to cope with the transition to a green economy. The president will also refer to lithium, of which Argentina is one of the world’s main producers.

The main objective of the meeting will be to “raise the ambition” of the objectives to which countries have committed in the Paris Climate Agreement, signed in 2015. The new targets Biden will announce point in that direction.

“The Biden-Harris administration has made revitalizing the economy its top priority as it grapples with the two most existential crises of our generation, the climate crisis and the devastation caused by Covid-19. We haven’t seen an administration with this level of ambition for 100 years, ”said Ramón Cruz, president of the Sierra Club, the largest environmental organization in the United States. “The new objective fundamentally doubles the ambition stated by the administration of Barack obama. We know we have to go beyond this goal, but it is certainly a good example for the rest of the world and a clear sign that it is a priority, ”he added.

The European Union (EU) also sent a signal ahead of the start of the summit by announcing a deal in the bloc to put into effect a binding commitment to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. by compared to 1990 levels. The bloc aims to become the first region in the world to achieve “climate neutrality” by 2050.

“Our political commitment to become the first climate neutral continent by 2050 is now also a legal commitment. Climate legislation puts the EU on the green track for a generation, ”European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.

The United States will also join efforts by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to bring the global shipping industry back to net zero emissions by 2050, Biden climate envoy John Kerry said.

“I would like to announce that in support of the global effort to stay below 1.5 ° C and in support of global efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the United States are determined to work with IMO countries to adopt the goal of achieving zero emissions from international shipping by 2050, ”Kerry said at a conference hosted by the Ocean Conservancy.