President Biden blamed Russia and China over combating Climate Change commitments

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On Sunday, US President Joe Biden blamed Russia and China for a lack of momentum by the world’s most powerful nations in the fight to combat climate change. He marked the end of the Group of 20 Conference in Rome ahead of a crucial summit on climate change in Glasgow, Scotland. The President informed reporters and said, “Not only Russia, but China, basically didn’t show up in terms of any commitments to deal with climate change. There’s a reason why people should be disappointed in that. I found it disappointing myself”. The leaders of the world’s largest economies made a vague commitment to seek carbon neutrality by or around mid-century as they wrapped up the 2-day summit that laid the groundwork for the UN climate conference.

The G20 members also agreed to end public financing for coal-fired power generation abroad but set no target for phasing out coal domestically, a clear nod to China, India, and other coal-dependent countries. President Biden said, “The proof of the pudding will be in the eating. I think you’re going to see we made significant progress and more has to be done. It’s going to require us to continue to focus on what China’s not going, what Russia’s not doing, and what Saudi Arabia is not doing”. He said the summit demonstrated the power of America showing up and working with allies to make progress on major issues. Biden highlighted discussions he had with world leaders across the summit, including talks with the leaders of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.

President Biden predicted the US will reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and touted his domestic policy agenda as bolstering efforts to do so. Biden’s plans include at least $555 billion in climate and clean energy investments. He expressed confidence that Congress will send to his desk both a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and a $1.75 trillion social policy and climate change package. President Biden also addressed supply chain bottlenecks. He said, “The economy is changing and the United States has to stay ahead of the curve”. Point to be noted that Biden’s $555 billion plan for climate spending is the centerpiece of a sweeping domestic policy package. He said, “The plan is the most significant investment to deal with the climate crisis that ever happened, beyond any other advanced nation in the world”.