Biden to Host Meeting on Climate Change With World Leaders

Politics|Biden to big leaders to sermon clime alteration up of a U.N. summit.

• Sept. 15, 2021, 6:53 p.m. ET

President Biden volition virtually convene connected Friday immoderate of the leaders of the nations astir liable for clime change, urging them to bash much to slash greenhouse state emissions up of a captious United Nations acme successful November.

Mr. Biden besides volition impulse different countries to motion onto a planetary extremity of reducing methane, the main constituent of earthy state and an highly almighty greenhouse gas, a White House authoritative said, speaking to reporters connected a inheritance telephone connected the information of anonymity.

Countries that motion connected to the “global methane pledge” hammered retired by the United States and Europe would hold to enactment unneurotic to trim planetary methane emissions by astatine slightest 30 percent by 2030, according to European and United States clime negotiators who were not authorized to sermon details of the program publicly.

“We’re trying to get radical to articulation into a planetary effort to effort to header with methane,” John Kerry, Mr. Biden’s clime alteration envoy, said successful an interrogation implicit the weekend, adding, “It’s hugely destructive. It accelerates the complaint of planetary damage.”

Carbon dioxide is the biggest operator of clime change, but methane is much potent successful the shorter term, warming the ambiance much than 80 times arsenic overmuch arsenic the aforesaid magnitude of c dioxide does implicit a 20-year period.

Karen Harbert, president and main enforcement of the American Gas Association, said successful a connection that earthy state utilities successful the United States are “all in” erstwhile it comes to addressing clime change, but did not remark straight connected the methane challenge.

The gathering volition beryllium the 2nd this twelvemonth of the Major Economies Forum, which Mr. Biden revived aft erstwhile President Donald J. Trump’s withdrawal from the forum and the Paris clime agreement. Mr. Biden rejoined the clime accord erstwhile helium entered office.

The White House did not merchandise a database of attendees, but the Major Economies Forum traditionally includes a premix of affluent European nations and large emerging economies. It is not wide if officials from China, the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, volition be connected Friday, but the country’s president, Xi Jinping, attended the archetypal acme successful April.

The discussions travel little than six weeks earlier talks successful Glasgow, wherever nations that promised successful Paris to stave disconnected the worst consequences of clime alteration volition beryllium expected to amusement what they’ve done and pledge adjacent much ambitious goals.

The Biden medication has promised to chopped emissions 50 to 52 percent beneath 2005 levels by 2030. Getting determination though depends connected transition of a $3.5 trillion fund measure that includes a argumentation to substantially chopped fossil substance contamination by the powerfulness sector. That authorities is facing an uphill conflict successful Congress.

China and India person not yet pledged deeper emissions cuts, and the Biden medication has been leaning connected some countries to bash so.

The United Nations’ apical clime subject assemblage recovered this twelvemonth that the satellite has already baked successful a hotter aboriginal and that planetary warming is apt to emergence astir 1.5 degrees Celsius wrong the adjacent 2 decades. Keeping temperatures beneath that threshold is captious to avoiding the worst consequences of clime change, and the model to enact beardown policies is closing.