Biden vows to slash US carbon emissions in HALF by 2030 in virtual climate summit

President Joe Biden on Thursday vowed the US would do its part to cut greenhouse gas, pledging America will cut its emissions blamed for climate change by 50 to 52 percent by 2030, compared with 2005 levels, and to set America on a path of zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.

‘The signs are unmistakable. The science is undeniable. The cost of inaction is mounting,’ the president said in his speech kicking off his Climate Summit.

‘This is a moral imperative, an economic imperative,’ Biden argued. ‘Time is short, but I believe we can do this. And I believe that we will do. Thank you for being part of the summit.’

In his remarks, Biden stressed the importance of working together but also he sold the benefits of climate change, claiming it will create jobs and boost economies. He has not gone into detail about how it will affect the daily lives of ordinary Americans.

Republicans, in contrast, criticized his plan, claiming it will put jobs at risk, will spark tax hikes and isn’t sustainable in the long term. 

‘Democrats’ zeal for imposing costly environmental agendas on our own nation is not something our biggest foreign competitors seem to share,’ Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said. ‘If that’s true, our colleagues could inflict as many painful policies on American workers and American industries as they want, and still not achieve a significant change in worldwide emissions or global temperatures.’ 

President Biden spoke from the East Room of the White House, which was camera-ready for the virtual summit, decorated with plants and greenery. Vice President Kamala Harris introduced him. The two then joined Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and climate czar John Kerry at a U-shaped table. The attendees from around the world, joining him virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, were on a screen in front of him.  

‘No nation can solve this crisis on our own, as I know you all fully understand all of us, all of us and particularly those of us who represent the world’s largest economies. We have to step up,’ Biden said.

Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan has many items that would help reduce emissions, including a clean energy standard to achieve net zero emissions in the power sector by 2035 and money to electrify the vehicle fleet.

Biden, in his remarks, argued taking action now would ‘set the world up for success, protect livelihoods around the world and keep global warming at a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius. We must get on the path now, in order to do that.’

‘If we do will breathe easier, literally, and figuratively,’ he said. ‘We’ll create good jobs here at home for millions of Americans and lay a strong foundation with growth in the future.’

Biden has included a string of climate initiatives in his infrastructure plan including $85 billion to modernize public transport, $174 billion on building more electric cars, $100 billion to upgrade the electrical grid and a $10 billion ‘Civilian Climate Cops.’ 

One way to cut emissions is to use solar, wind and other renewables to power the electrical grid. David Williams, President of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, argued such a move will ‘disproportionately hurt lower and middle income citizens who will be forced to pay higher electricity bills.’  

Biden’s summit kicked off with a slick video about planet earth, where astronauts like Neil Armstrong talk about seeing it from space and how it suffers from global warming. 

There were a few technical glitches – Harris’ audio had an echo when she spoke, making it difficult to decipher her remarks, and there were dial tones when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke. Other times voices were heard speaking in the background over the speaker on screen.

There also was an odd moment when it was time for Russian President Vladimir Putin to speak. He was introduced while French President Emmanuel Macron – in pretaped remarks – was still talking. Then Putin sat silently on screen as Biden sat quietly in the East Room with no one speaking.

Finally Putin was introduced again and began his talk. 

‘We had some technical difficulties,’ Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said. 

The summit welcome leaders from South America to Asia – crossing multiple countries and time zone. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan acknowledged the global reach when he began his remarks with: ‘Good morning, good afternoon and good evening.’ 

In his remarks, Putin called for international cooperation to tackle climate change, urging ‘broad and effective international cooperation in the calculation and monitoring of volumes of all types of harmful emissions into the atmosphere.’

‘Russia is genuinely interested in galvanizing international cooperation so as to look further for effective solutions to climate change as well as to all other vital challenges,’ he said.

All 40 world leaders invited by the White House were in attendance on Thursday. 

But there will be no one-on-one conversations taking place on the sidelines after the US slapped additional sanctions on Russia and Biden has vowed to take on China.

There will be ‘no bilaterals or side zoom rooms that are happening,’ a senior administration official told reporters on a call Wednesday. 

The leaders, in their remarks, kept their focus on the topic at hand and reiterated their own country’s goals to combat climate change.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Wednesday the UK would cut emissions by 78 per cent by 2035 and issued a call to arms in his remarks to the summit on Thursday.

‘It’s vital for all of us to show that this is not all about some expensive, politically correct green act of bunny hugging… This is about growth and jobs,’ he said.

During his remarks, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador suggested the U.S. government offer temporary work visas and eventually citizenship to those who take part in a tree planting program he began and wishes to expand.

He explained he wants to expand his ‘Sembrando Vida,’ or ‘Sowing Life,’ program to Central America to be the ‘largest reforestation effort in the world.’

Lopez Obrador said the program aims to create 1.2 million jobs and plant 3 billion additional trees.

He suggested Biden ‘could finance’ the program’s extension to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador – the tree Northern Triangle countries struggling with poverty and harsh living conditions. Many of the migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border come from those three countries.

He suggested the temporary visa given to plant trees could lead to US citizenship.

‘The U.S. government could offer those who participate in this program that after sowing their lands for three consecutive years, they would have the possibility to obtain a temporary work visa,’ Lopez Obrador said.

‘And after another three or four years, they could obtain residency in the United States or dual nationality,’ he added.

The State Department released a full schedule of the summit, which will take place virtually Thursday and Friday.

In addition to the president and world leaders, several Cabinet secretaries and business leaders will attend.

Speakers include Pope Francis, Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, World Bank President David Malpas, and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser. 

With the summit, Biden is seeking to revive a U.S.-convened forum of the world’s major economies on climate that George W. Bush and Barack Obama both used and Donald Trump let languish.  

The new US target on emissions aims to ‘challenge the world on increasing ambition and combatting the climate crisis,’ an administration official said on a briefing call with reporters. 

Combined with announcements expected by other leaders, the official said the world will be closer – but not yet on track – to keeping the planet’s temperature within 2.7 Fahrenheit above pre-industrial times, the level scientists say is needed to avoid the most severe effects of climate change.

‘Over half the world’s economy is now moving to cut emissions at a global pace needed to keep 1.5 C in reach,’ the official said. ‘Our coalition is growing.’

Biden’s action raises the pressure on China – by far the world’s largest carbon emitter. 

In his remarks to the summit, Chin’s President Xi Jinping reiterated his country’s pledge to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

‘We must be committed to green development. To improve the environment is to boost productivity,’ he said.

Xi said developed countries, responsible for greater historical carbon emissions, should bear more responsibility for making changes at home and helping developing countries finance their transition to low-carbon economies.

Xi emphasized that China is aiming to move from peak carbon to net zero in a short time period – just 30 years, or the span of one generation. 

And Japan, a heavy user of coal, announced its own new 46% emissions reduction target. 

In his remarks, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said the world is ‘at the verge of the abyss’ because of climate change and must take aggressive steps to avoid catastrophe.

He called for world leaders to build a global coalition for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 – ‘every country, every region, every city, every company and every industry.’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India made no new commitment, but reiterated his nation’s promise of installing 450 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030. 

Britain in November will host a UN conference in Glasgow that aims to upgrade the 2015 Paris Agreement.  

A UN report late last year said that the world was on course for warming of three degrees Celsius — a level at which the planet is forecast to see many glaciers and ice caps melt, low-lying areas submerged and increasingly severe droughts, floods and disasters that could trigger famine and mass migration.