G7 reiterates climate commitment
The Group of Seven will meet this Sunday to conclude the Cornwall summit. The meeting served to take stock of the health crisis and outline a recovery plan based on equality. Tackling climate change was another major theme of the event, putting it at the heart of the international community's agenda. Leaders also presented measures to prevent future pandemics and pledged to donate millions of vaccines through the COVAX mechanism.
The G7 summit was Joe Biden's first trip abroad since becoming president. Over the weekend, he strengthened relations with his partners, relations that were strained during the Trump administration.
Biden held a bilateral conversation with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, on the sidelines of the other leaders. The US president said he was "on the same page" as the French leader. Macron, for his part, praised his American ally. "It's great to have a US president who is part of the club," he said, clearly alluding to Trump's distant behaviour towards G7 members.
Macron insisted on cooperation between the two sides of the Atlantic to tackle current challenges such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic and climate change. Since Biden's arrival at the White House, the Democratic administration has been committed to protecting the planet. The American president has praised France's role in climate issues through the Paris Agreement, a pact that Trump abandoned while in office. "I think we can do great things," the French president added.
In response to Macron's words, Biden responded with the phrase "America is back", a slogan he used before beginning his trip to Europe. The Democratic leader also referred to the upcoming NATO summit to be held tomorrow in Brussels. "We are very committed to the cohesion of NATO and I think the European Union is a very strong and vibrant entity that has a lot to do with Western Europe's ability to manage economic issues while providing a backbone and support for NATO. It has my full support," he added. The Atlantic Alliance meeting will be Biden's first as president, and as he did this weekend in Cornwall, he will use the event to send a message of unity.
Washington has commented on the US-French meeting. As the White House reports in a communiqué, both leaders have reiterated their commitment to "deepening bilateral relations and the trans-Atlantic alliance". The document also notes the leaders' commitment to the upcoming COP26 summit in Glasgow, a meeting on climate and sustainability to be held in November.
Climate change has also been addressed by the other leaders. Even Antonio Guterres, secretary general of the United Nations, warned about the climate crisis before meeting with the G7 members. "I am worried about the consequences. It is clear that we are approaching a point of no return," Guterres told the Guardian. "Spending trillions of dollars and not taking this opportunity to reverse trends and invest massively in the green economy will mean missing an unforgivable opportunity," the UN secretary-general explained.
Boris Johnson, during the first day of the summit, reiterated his commitment to the climate on several occasions, calling for a "greener" world. Angela Merkel also stressed the need for climate change to be a central theme in the recovery from the pandemic.
The Group of Seven approved a project designed by Biden that seeks to compete with the New Silk Road, Beijing's grand strategic plan. Under the name 'Rebuilding the World Better', the G7 seeks to develop infrastructure and connectivity in countries in Latin America, Africa and the Indo-Pacific region. During the summit, Biden also pressed his allies to take serious action against "forced labour" in China's Xinjiang province, home to the Uighur minority.