World leaders cheer US return to climate fight under Biden
BERLIN — World leaders breathed an audible sigh of relief that the United States under President Joe Biden is rejoining the global effort to curb climate change, a cause that his predecessor had shunned over the past four years.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron were among those welcoming Biden's decision to rejoin the Paris climate accord, reversing a key Trump policy in the first hours of his presidency Wednesday.
“Rejoining the Paris Agreement is hugely positive news,” tweeted Johnson, whose country is hosting this year's U.N. climate summit.
Macron said that with Biden, “we will be stronger to face the challenges of our time. Stronger to build our future. Stronger to protect our planet.”
The Paris accord, forged in the French capital in 2015, commits countries to put forward plans for reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which is released from burning fossil fuels.
As president, Donald Trump questioned the scientific warnings about man-made global warming, at times accusing other countries of using the Paris accord as a club to hurt Washington. The U.S. formally left the pact in November.
“The United States departure from it has definitely diminished our capacities to change things, concretely to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions,” said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
“Now we are dealing with an administration that is conscious of what is at stake and that is very committed to use the voice of the United States, a voice that is very powerful on the international level,” she said.
Biden put the fight against climate change at the center of his presidential campaign and on Wednesday immediately launched a series of climate-friendly efforts to bring Washington back in step with the rest of the world on the issue.
“A cry for survival comes from the planet itself,” Biden said in his inaugural address. “A cry that can't be any more desperate or any more clear now.”
Experts say any international efforts to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), ideally 1.5C ( 2.7F), as agreed in the Paris accord would struggle without the contribution of U.S., which is the world's second biggest carbon emitter.
Scientists say time is running out to reach that goal because the world has already warmed 1.2 C (2.2 F) since pre-industrial times.
Of particular importance is deforestation in the vast Amazon rainforest. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has faced criticism from global leaders, including Biden before his election victory, and non- profit organizations for rising deforestation.
Bolsonaro has been dismissive of international efforts to steer Brazil's management of the huge rainforest, saying its resources must be harnessed to support growth and economic development. Still, he sent a letter to Biden on Wednesday urging that the two countries continue their “partnership in favor of sustainable development and protection of the environment, especially of the Amazon.”
“I stress that Brazil has shown its commitment with the Paris Accord after the introduction of its new national goals,” Bolsonaro added in the letter, which he published on his social media channels.
Italy said the U.S. return to the Paris accord would help other countries reach their own climate commitments. “Italy looks forward to working with the U.S. to build a sustainable planet and ensure a better future for the next generations,” Premier Giuseppe Conte tweeted.