Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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U.S. will hold climate summit next year as it seeks to rejoin Paris Agreement

During the very, very busy first 100 days of the Biden-Harris administration, the United States will host a climate summit. President-elect Joe Biden has vowed to rejoin the agreement that Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the day after the November election. He reiterated his plan to put the nation on a trajectory to reach “net-zero” carbon emissions by 2050, saying: “I’ll immediately start working with my counterparts around the world to do all that we possibly can, including by convening the leaders of major economies for a climate summit within my first 100 days in office … We’ll elevate the incredible work cities, states and businesses have been doing to help reduce emissions and build a cleaner future. We’ll listen to and engage closely with the activists, including young people, who have continued to sound the alarm and demand change from those in power.” COP26, the next of the UN’s climate change conferences, is scheduled for Glasgow the first two weeks of next November.

As required for participation, nations signed onto the Paris Agreement have come up with nationally determined contributions (NDCs) pledging how much they will cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The current pledges, scientists lament, would by the turn of the century produce an average global temperature of 3 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Anything above 2 degrees C means serious problems, according to climate researchers. Although representatives from 70 signatory nations met virtually last month at the Climate Ambition Summit, there were no major breakthroughs, something participants say they hope a renewed U.S. presence may remedy at COP26 and beyond.

Read original article here.

Image: “Joe Biden” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

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