Global leaders are eagerly anticipating the United State’s announcement of a pathway for cutting emissions of heat-trapping gases by 2030, which aims to put the nation on a way to net-zero emissions by 2050.
The United States on Friday officially returned to the Paris climate agreement around 107 days after it had quit and US leaders stated that the country cannot afford to ever sideline the rising climate challenges.
The previous Donald Trump administration announced its withdrawal in 2019 which came into effect on November 4, 2020. The removal of the country from the worldwide global climate agreement stood for 107 days. The US return to the Paris agreement became official, almost a month after US President Joe Biden told the United Nations that America wants back in. During his inaugural, Biden said: “A cry for survival comes from the planet itself, A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear now.”
In a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “Climate change and science diplomacy can never again be add-ons’ in our foreign policy discussions. Addressing the real threats from climate change and listening to our scientists is at the center of our domestic and foreign policy priorities.” Blinken further said that it is vital to the discussion of migration, international health efforts, national security, economic diplomacy, and trade talks.
Global leaders expect the United States to prove its seriousness and are eagerly anticipating its announcement of a pathway for cutting emissions of heat-trapping gases by 2030, which aims to put the nation on a way to net-zero emissions by 2050.
The former United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres said that climate inaction by the Trump administration is the real issue. Figueres said: “From a political symbolism perspective, whether it’s 100 days or four years, it’s basically the same thing. It’s not about how many days. It’s the political symbolism that the largest economy refuses to see the opportunity of addressing climate change.” “We’ve lost too much time,” she said.
United Nations Environment Program Director Inger Andersen said that she does not doubt that America will prove its leadership when it submits its required emissions-cutting targets. The Biden administration promised to submit it before an Earth Day summit in April.
Also Read: US to join global coronavirus vaccine program, says Fauci
Also Read: Biden signs 17 executive orders on day one to reverse Trump’s policies
