Last Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke via video link with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel about efforts to combat climate change. US climate envoy John Kerry was in China and India last week to discuss climate cooperation. The European Union this week presented its plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2030. Today marks the conclusion of the hypothetical two-day climate summit for dozens of countries chaired by Biden.
Read also: Analysis: What can we expect from the great climate summit organized by US President Joe Biden?
The last meeting in particular is held in high esteem because it includes an unofficial return of the United States to the international climate scene. Under Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, the United States withdrew from the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The United States is now participating once again in those climate agreements.
Top priority
Biden made climate a top priority. He wants his country to become the world leader in the climate field, but the United States lacks credibility on this point. Trump tore up the Paris Agreement. Earlier, President George W. Bush withdrew the United States from the Kyoto treaty because it would harm the US economy and favor competitors. Who guarantees that Biden’s successor in 2025 will not do something similar?
The United States lacks credibility on this point. Trump tore up the Paris Agreement. Earlier, President George W. Bush withdrew the United States from the Kyoto Protocol
Biden also faces a divided Congress that may not agree to the drastic change in the course of the US economy needed to achieve climate goals.
Mission failed
Pope Kerry’s failed mission to China and India last week confirms that there remains much international doubt about the ambitions of the United States. The proposal to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions did not work together. The accusation is that the historic pollution of the United States is many times greater than the current pollution of the non-Western superpowers. Then there are all kinds of geopolitical disputes with China and Russia that make cooperation difficult.
The United States lacks the international credit to be a leader. Maybe something for the European Union?
Biden’s enthusiasm will not be due to tackling the climate issue in a global context under the wings of America. But the United States lacks the international credit to be a leader. Maybe something for the European Union?
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