On November 4, 2020, Donald Trump officially made good on his threat to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Just five months later, newly elected US President Joe Biden has returned his nation to the agreement and made a strong pledge to reduce emissions.
The POTUS hosted the Leaders Summit on Climate Change, which saw 40 world leaders come together online to give updates on their carbon net-zero targets. It was a move designed to restore the United States as leaders in the fight against Climate Change, and to galvanise other nations in the race towards carbon neutrality.
Not only did Biden announce that the United States would return to the Paris Agreement, but he also unveiled a revised goal to cut greenhouse gases by 50-52 per cent from 2005 levels.
“This is the decade we must make decisions that will avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis,” President Biden said.
The announcement makes good on the President’s pledge to make reducing greenhouse gases a priority. Biden had previously published The Biden Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice, which outlines all of his plans to lead the United States to a clean, green future.
How did the other countries react?
There were also some significant announcements outside of the US, with some of the biggest nations on the planet pledging improved emissions targets, including:
- China: President Xi Jinping has pledged that his nation will achieve net-zero emissions by 2060.
- Brazil: President Jair Bolsonaro announced his country would reach neutrality by 2050, 10 years earlier than the previous goal.
- Canada: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised his country’s goal to 40-45 per cent by 2030 below 2005 levels, up from 30 per cent.
- Japan: Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga raised Japan’s target for cutting greenhouse gases to 46 per cent by 2030, up from 26 per cent.
While India, Russia and the European Union did not reveal updated goals, those nations have begun bringing their emissions figures down since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015.
Most nations did not make updated pledges (including Australia), but there is plenty of scope for them to announce new targets throughout the year.
More nations expected to revise their emissions plans at global summits in 2021
There are several more significant meetings of world leaders this year that will give nations an opportunity to provide updated emissions targets, including:
- The 47th Group of Seven (G7) Summit: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States will convene between June 11-13, with the United Kingdom to host this year’s summit.
- The 16th Group of 20 (G20) Summit: Leaders from 19 countries and the European Union that make up 80 per cent of the world’s and 60 per cent of the global population will come together from October 30-31 in Rome.
The Glasgow Climate Change Conference will be the last and perhaps most important of all of these meetings, and will be held in Scotland from November 1-12. This will be the deadline for the 200-odd countries in the Paris Agreement to provide their climate pledges.
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U.S., other countries deepen climate goals at Earth Day summit
https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-pledges-halve-its-emissions-by-2030-renewed-climate-fight-2021-04-22/?fbclid=IwAR14qXxhlkqoFt_AeFlBEnyHIBAj0vV0E4XNPCq3fuaSWjmkRDAy7FLyMUc
