The president of the United States, Joe Biden, aims to present the economic processes of the fight against climate change on the second day of the virtual summit.
Biden aims to highlight the economic benefits of climate action on Friday a day after announcing an ambitious new goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at his Climate Leaders Summit from the White House.
On Thursday, the president pledged that the United States will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% to 52% below its 2005 emission levels by 2030. Although the targets are part of the Paris climate agreement by that Biden joined in taking office, are not binding, and the administration has not come up with a plan on how the US will comply with them.
Biden proposes ambitious plan at climate summit 6:06The second day of the event aims to provide clarity on how Biden expects the US to achieve those goals, specifically highlighting the amount of money that can be made in a green economy.
Throughout the first day of the summit, Biden and the White House have repeatedly argued that taking action to address the climate crisis will make the US and global economies more resilient and competitive.
White House National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy said Thursday that the US president believes that “addressing the climate crisis represents a valuable economic opportunity.” And the fact is that job creation and the fight against climate change go hand in hand.
John Kerry, the presidential special envoy for the climate, argued: “I think that no politician could change what is happening now globally in the market. And that’s part of the message of what happened ”during the summit.
Biden first proposed a world climate summit during the presidential campaign, promising to convene world leaders in his first 100 days in office “to persuade them to join the United States in making more ambitious national commitments, above and beyond. those who have already assumed.
First day ends with new promises of emission cuts
The countries that generate the most CO2 emissions 0:40The wide range of leaders attending the two-day summit so far includes several US allies, such as Emmanuel Macron of France and Boris Johnson of Britain, as well as leaders with whom Biden envisions having a more contentious relationship, such as Chinese Xi Jinping and Russian Vladimir Putin. While some countries reiterated during the summit that they were working towards their previously set climate goals, others, such as Canada and South Korea, announced that they were increasing their goals.
Kerry told reporters at the White House on Thursday that nearly all of the top 20 greenhouse gas emitters have pledged to take additional action on climate.
“All 20 are here today, and almost all 20 have committed to doing additional things,” he said.
Kerry also indicated that he was pleasantly surprised at the summit by some of the comments from non-allied leaders, such as Putin and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro appeared to moderate his tone on environmental issues during the summit, but critics have questioned his new position.
“Some of the comments that President Bolsonaro made today have surprised me (…), that’s very good. That works if you do those things. The question is: Will they do it? And the question is what is the monitoring and enforcement, “said Kerry.
Kerry said he believed Putin was “quite rational and had some decent visionary ideas.”
“I think there is room to hopefully have a discussion about this and we will see if we can find any common ground. I think that’s the most important summary of what I have heard in terms of your comments today, “added Kerry.
What to expect on the second day?
López Obrador talks about migration at climate summit 3:24The events of the second day of the summit this Friday will underscore what the White House has long made as one of the most compelling arguments for its ambitious climate goals: that taking action on climate makes financial sense for powers. worldwide.
There will be two sessions. The first will focus on “the importance of accelerating public and private investment in climate innovation”. The second “will highlight the broad economic benefits of climate action, with a strong focus on job creation.”
Biden is scheduled to deliver a speech at the summit on Friday.
Several world leaders are expected to participate, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari; and the Polish president, Andrzej Duda.
According to Bloomberg Green, Duda plans to say during the summit that the goal of reaching net zero emissions has to be “fair and just” for Poland, a nation heavily dependent on coal, while maintaining the country’s energy security.
Several members of Biden’s cabinet will participate, such as Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm; the Secretary of Transportation; Pete Buttigieg; and the Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo. And keynote speakers include Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, Brenda Mallory – Chair of the White House Council for Environmental Equality – and Peggy Shepard, Co-Chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
Rodrigo Pedroso, Kate Sullivan, Kevin Liptak and Allie Malloy of Citizen Free Press contributed to this article.