Special relationship on track as leaders bond over love of trains
BORIS JOHNSON and Joe Biden bonded over their shared love of trains in the first call between the leaders, discussing how green travel and climate change would be a “number one priority” for both countries.
The Prime Minister, who is believed to have been Mr Biden’s first call to a foreign leader outside of the Americas, asked the US president about his Amtrak train journeys across the country, a source familiar with the conversation told The Daily Telegraph.
After Mr Biden’s wife and daughter died in a car crash in 1972, the then-sen- ator rode on Amtrak every day from his home in the state of Delaware to work in Washington DC. His plan to travel by train to his inauguration last week was scuppered by security concerns.
The president has often talked about his passion for trains and lobbied in the Senate for more federal funding for the rail sector, earning him the nickname
“Amtrak Joe”. Mr Biden lamented that he will not be able to take the train as much as he once did in his new White House role.
Mr Johnson, who has previously revealed how he relaxes by making model buses, in November announced
plans for a “green industrial revolution”.
Goals include ending sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2030, promoting public transport, cycling and walking and achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Mr Johnson used his call with Mr Biden to welcome the announcements that the US is to rejoin both the 2015
Paris climate accord and the World Health Organisation, and they discussed the prospects of a free trade deal. “Boris congratulated Biden on the Paris accord decision and expressed he was keen to see Biden move forward with net zero 2050,” said the source. “Both emphasised green travel.” The 35-minute call was said to be “very friendly”, with each “seeming to enjoy the other’s anecdotes”.
The Telegraph understands from sources close to Mr Biden’s administration that he intends to prioritise climate change, which will be one of his main focuses after the retreat of the threat from Covid-19.
He is planning more ambitious pledges than former president Barack Obama in order to make up for the year the US was out of the accord.
During the election he spoke of his support for a Green New Deal, which involves a $2trillion investment in clean energy over four years, aiming for 100 per cent clean electricity by 2035.