Advertisement
Joe Biden
OpinionComment
Andrew Sheng
Andrew Sheng

Opinion | Can Biden steer the US along the critical path to climate action?

  • The strategy behind the US president’s global climate summit is clearly to regain the moral high ground Donald Trump ceded
  • However, the US’ climate funding commitment to the rest of the world is minimal, on many levels

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
US President Joe Biden speaks during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate from the East Room of the White House on April 22. Photo: AFP
Andrew Sheng
April 29 will be US President Joe Biden’s 100th day in office. After four years of chaos at the White House, it is a relief how quickly Biden has delivered calm competence in tackling the pandemic and the economy, as well as setting the tone for foreign affairs.
Advertisement
On April 22, Earth Day, Biden convened a global climate summit. The 40 world leaders invited to the virtual gathering included the leaders not only of G20 countries, but also of small countries like Bhutan, Gabon, the Marshall Islands and Antigua and Barbuda. From Asia, countries which are not among the Group of 20, like Vietnam, Singapore and Bangladesh, joined heavyweights including China, India, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea.

Significantly, Pope Francis was also invited, adding a moral tone to the meeting.

In his opening remarks, Biden spoke about climate change not just as an existential threat, but also as an opportunity to create jobs and get the economy going, through clean investments. He urged global leaders to take concrete action to keep an increase in the Earth’s temperature to not more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.

To demonstrate US leadership, he committed America to taking two significant steps. The first is a pledge to cut US greenhouse gas emissions at least in half by 2030, based on 2005 levels. The second is to double the US’ annual public climate finance to developing countries by 2024.

01:57

US, China put aside differences for pledge to work together on climate change

US, China put aside differences for pledge to work together on climate change

How significant is this global climate summit? Optically, this could be the Green New Deal of the century. Practically, it’s all about delivery – whether the US can lead the world out of global warming in action and not just words. But the US would also have to put its own house in order, in terms of the economy and social inequality.

Advertisement