Biden pitches clean-energy jobs proposal
World leaders focus on the economic benefits of shifting from fossil fuels.
WASHINGTON — President Biden urged Americans and world leaders to speed up the shift toward clean energy Friday, arguing at the close of the global climate summit he convened that fighting climate change is a challenge, but also an economic opportunity.
“When we invest in climate resilience and infrastructure, we create opportunities for everyone. That’s at the heart of our jobs plan that I proposed here in the United States,” Biden said, vowing to put automotive workers, electricians and those in the construction trades to work on a massive transformation of how Americans heat their homes and drive to work.
“It’s how our nation intends to build an economy that gives everybody a fair shot,” he said.
The two-day virtual summit brought together the leaders of over three dozen countries, including the largest emitters of planet-warming gases. For an international gathering conducted remotely, bridging multiple time zones and contending with global rivalries, it went smoothly.
The U.S. and China managed to put aside their disagreements long enough to bring Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the table — though he did not make any new commitments — and even Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to take part.
On Friday, discussions focused on the steps nations could take to reduce carbon emissions, and highlighted the efforts of smaller countries such as Denmark, Norway and Singapore to shift away from oil, gas and coal in favor of renewable energy sources.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen detailed her country’s plans for a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
“Today, Denmark has more jobs in green energy than in fossils, and the private sector is on board,” she said.
United Arab Emirates Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum announced his nation’s new collaboration with the U.S. and Britain to speed up agricultural innovation and aid to farmers already suffering from climate change.
And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his pledge to stop burning coal by 2025, “barring unforeseen circumstances.”
“This was exciting. This was energizing,” said John F. Kerry, Biden’s climate envoy, even as he acknowledged that most countries, including the U.S., are still not doing enough to keep warming below the temperature threshold needed to prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change.
“As a community of nations writ large, we are not getting the job done,” Kerry said, later adding, “It’s not a lack of capacity; it’s an apparent lack of willpower.”
The summit served as a platform for Biden to announce that he was doubling America’s initial commitment under the Paris climate agreement by pledging to cut U.S. emissions by as much as 52% from 2005 levels by 2030.
He also promised that his administration would double its contribution to help developing countries combat and adapt to climate change, pledging to spend roughly $5.7 billion by 2024.
Some other countries also made new, stronger commitments. In the days before the summit, leaders of the European Union and Britain strengthened their climate targets. Japan and Canada announced deeper cuts to carbon emissions by 2030 on the first day of the summit, and South Korea promised to put a stop to public financing of coal-fired power plants.
It was unclear until shortly before the summit whether Xi would participate, so his attendance was in some ways a victory.
But China and India — the biggest and third-biggest producers of carbon emissions — offered nothing new. Neither announced stronger plans to reduce emissions in the near term, to end their reliance on coalgenerated electricity or, in China’s case, to stop bankrolling coal-fired plants abroad.
Many other world leaders offered vague assurances that they would prioritize fighting climate change eventually. Poorer countries emphasized that wealthier nations bore the brunt of the responsibility for warming and should shoulder most of the cost of undoing the damage.