Joe Biden frames climate change battle as chance to create jobs, boost economy
- ‘Using just today’s technologies won’t allow us to meet our ambitious goals,’ Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says on final day of climate summit
- US president also warns that leaders’ commitments without action are just ‘hot air’
“It’s an opportunity to create millions of good-paying jobs around the world in innovative sectors – jobs that bring greater quality of life, greater dignity, to the people who are performing those jobs in every nation,” Biden said, calling climate action “an economic imperative”.
The remarks, delivered on the second day of a US-hosted climate summit, were among more than 90 mentions of the word “jobs” by the heads of state, business leaders and others who gathered for the final sessions.
The summit has seen fresh climate pledges from numerous countries, with more than half of the world’s economy now committed to the pace of action needed to limit global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) – the goal laid out in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
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World leaders pledge to cut greenhouse emissions at virtual Earth Day summit
But the gathering also saw vague or non-existent commitments from other participants, with China and Russia – the top and fourth largest emitters, respectively – unveiling no specific targets.
