Last Thursday (April 22), Pres. Joe Biden sponsored a virtual climate summit to which all 40 invited world leaders attended, including Russia’s Pres. Putin. Other world prominent figures like Pope Francis and Microsoft founder, along with top CEOs of global corporations also attended the 2-day virtual meeting, which coincided with the Earth Day commemoration.
On his part, President Biden pledged that as part of the country’s commitment to the Paris climate agreement, the U.S. will cut half of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Calling the vow as a “nationally determined contribution,” in rejoining the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement from which ex-president Donald Trump withdrew as a way of reversing his predecessor Pres. Obama’s support for the global climate coalition during his administration.
Biden Calls the Virtual Summit the First Step in Traveling the Road Together
In his remarks, the U.S. president said that while America represents less than half of the world’s global emissions, he said that America will take steps to set the nation on the path toward attaining net-zero emissions by 2050. Still, Pres. Biden reminded everyone in attendance that no single nation can solve the global climate crisis alone. The virtual summit as he said was the first step every nation will take in travelling the road together.
Actually, environmental groups and climate scientists have been pressuring the Biden administration to find ways that would put the U.S. on track in order to attain more ambitious targets to prevent the worst effect of global warming as manifested by climate changes.
In a previous and separate occasion, Biden’s climate envoy John Kerry had lamented that most countries have not lived up to their commitments to the Paris pact.