Biden says US will meet global challenge of climate change

 Biden says US will meet global challenge of climate change

President Joe Biden spoke at the COP27 climate negotiations in Egypt. The President said the United States will meet its promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.

In a speech at global climate talks in Egypt, President Joe Biden said the United States is following through on its promises to cut greenhouse gas emissions and cementing America's image as a global leader against climate change . Worked.

“We are proving that good climate policy is good economic policy,” President Biden told a room of representatives from governments around the world. "The United States will meet our emissions targets by 2030."

The US has pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by between 50 and 52% by 2030. The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which encourages electric cars and more efficient buildings, was a major step toward achieving that goal. Still, more will need to be done. Currently, US emissions are expected to decline by about 39% by 2030.

Biden did not announce any major new policies in his speech. This week, his administration has announced several plans to crack down on greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas facilities, invest in renewable energy and direct private funding for climate projects abroad.

The President reiterated the importance of such measures. "The climate crisis is about human security, economic security, environmental security, national security and the life of the planet," he said.

Biden arrives at slow pace of climate talks

The speech comes about halfway through a climate summit that has so far failed to make any significant progress on major global sticking points.

Developing countries are frustrated with the US and wealthy nations who say they want them to offset the increasingly devastating climate impacts. Top leaders of India and China, the two biggest greenhouse gas polluters, are not joining the talks. The war in Ukraine is also triggering a new push for fossil fuels, as countries try to wean themselves off natural gas from Russia.

Biden also said that votes in the midterm elections are still being counted in the US, determining which party will control Congress and, ultimately, whether the US will fulfill its climate promises to the world.

Developing countries call on U.S. for more climate aid put pressure on

The Biden administration has pledged that the US will contribute $11 billion by 2024 to help developing countries tackle climate change through projects such as renewable energy or new infrastructure to protect cities. Wealthy nations generate the bulk of climate pollution and have pledged $100 billion by 2020 to low-income countries that have done little to reduce global warming.

But the industrialized world has so far fallen short of that goal. If Republicans take control of Congress, it is unclear how the White House will follow through on its pledge. Congressional Republicans have repeatedly blocked such international climate funding.

And Republican leaders have also historically opposed payments that developing countries say they owe for the damage and destruction caused by climate change. Establishment of a global fund for such payments is a major topic of discussion in the current summit.

In his speech, the president said he would continue to push for more funding from Congress. "The climate crisis is affecting countries and communities most with the fewest resources to respond and recover," he said.

Global emissions are still rising too fast to avoid dangerous levels of warming. If countries meet their climate resolutions, emissions will fall by only 3 percent by 2030. Studies show that they need to decline by up to 45 percent to avoid more devastating climate impacts, such as powerful storms, heat waves, and melting ice sheets that would damage the oceans. Flooding coastal cities.

Biden urged countries to cut their emissions as quickly as possible. "The science is devastatingly clear," he said. "We have to make significant progress by the end of this decade.