Climate brings major powers together despite their differences
The Earth Day Summit brings together world leaders to discuss new measures and goals to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The summit, organised by the United States, is being held in a virtual format and is attended by 40 countries, including Xi Jinping's China and Vladimir Putin's Russia, while Europe is represented by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. After months of tensions between the United States, Russia and China over sanctions imposed by those administrations, it seems that this summit will serve to calm tempers and focus on a single point, the climate.
After four years of isolation by the Trump administration on the fight against climate change, the United States is ready to resume international leadership, and is hosting the summit on 22-23 April. President Joe Biden is seeking to fulfil one of his great campaign promises, to make the United States the country of reference and well positioned in the international community to lead on the global environmental issue. The summit coincides with Earth Day, and represents the prelude to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), to be held in Glasgow in November this year. "The Climate Summit hosted by the United States on #EarthDay will bring world leaders together to commit to urgent action on climate change. The Summit will be a key event on the road to #COP26," tweeted the UN.
Last week the United States and China pledged to cooperate on reducing global warming, with both states strengthening the practice of the Paris Agreement, as agreed by special climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart in Beijing. The meeting comes as the two executives are at loggerheads over alleged human rights violations in the Xinjiang region and Hong Kong, Beijing's interference in Taiwan and the fight over technology warfare. UN Secretary-General António Guterres was encouraged: "I am encouraged that China and the US have committed to work together to address the climate crisis in the lead up to #COP26 and beyond. Cooperation between the two countries was vital to securing the #ParisAgreement and remains vital today to deliver on its promise". Recall that, after taking office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order allowing the country to officially return to the Paris Agreement.
The rise in global temperatures should alert delegations at the summit to commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. One of the major goals for 2050 is to make the country carbon neutral, meaning that the amount of carbon removed from the environment is equal to or greater than the amount emitted by 2050. Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, referred to the United States' leading role in the fight against climate change; "the involvement of the United States after a few years away from the climate table is something that people will look at to make sure they are serious and engaged.... but there is no doubt that we need a country of the stature of the United States to be part of the solution and not part of the problem if we are going to move forward as a planet," said Trudeau.
Vladimir Putin will be one of the most important figures participating in the summit, as diplomatic tension between the United States and Russia has not abated in recent months over the arrest of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, who is in prison in poor health. The Russian president commented that Russia's greenhouse gas emissions should be lower than those of the European Union in the next 30 years, "this is a difficult task because of the size of our country, the peculiarities of its geography, climate and economic structure. But I am absolutely sure that such a goal - given our scientific and technological potential - is entirely achievable," Putin said.
