Speaking at a forum of major energy and climate economies organized by the United States, the president said that the war of Russian President Vladimir Putin “exacerbates the need to achieve long-term reliable energy security and stability” and fuels a “global energy crisis.”
Biden announced on Friday that the United States and the European Union have launched the next step in their global promise of methane to reduce global warming emissions by 30% by 2030. The so-called energy route will focus on eliminating routine combustion in operations with fossil fuels – the combustion of natural gas that occurs in oil production – and focuses on ways to reduce methane pollution in the oil and gas sector.
“Every year, our existing energy system emits enough methane to meet the needs of the entire European energy sector. We burn enough gas to offset almost all EU gas imports from Russia. So by stopping the leak and burning of the superpower greenhouse gas and capturing that resource for countries that need it, we’re dealing with two issues at once, “Biden said, speaking virtually to other White House leaders.
Biden also announced on Friday a new global initiative focused on raising $ 90 billion to develop and scale new clean decarbonization technologies. The United States will provide $ 21.5 billion for the effort, with funds already included in Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law.
The president said the new initiatives – which do not require congressional approval – are part of a joint US effort to boost energy security, reduce dependence on Russian gas, reduce gas and energy prices and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“The critical point is that these actions are part of our transition to a clean and secure long-term energy future. And the good news is climate security and energy security go hand in hand,” Biden said.
The meeting comes as much of the president’s broad climate program remains stagnant in Congress, leaving Biden without any major domestic climate policies to present to other world leaders. This comes after the president admits that he can do little to immediately bring down the price of gas in the United States, which recently reached $ 5 a gallon on average for the first time for the first time.
Friday’s meeting was the largest climate summit of world leaders ahead of the UN Climate Summit, COP27, in November. Twenty-three of the world’s largest economies, as well as other countries involved in climate promises, were presented at the virtual meeting. Several foreign countries were also expected to announce enhanced climate targets in line with the Paris Agreement.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that is about 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in the short term. Climate scientists say reducing methane emissions is a necessary but easy way to start rejecting the climate crisis.
The president has invited other countries to join his pre-announced domestic target by 2030. Half of vehicles sold in the United States will be battery-powered, fuel-cell-electric or plug-in hybrid. Biden’s goal of zero-emission vehicles is non-binding and some other countries are moving more aggressively towards it. For example, the European Union is considering its own stricter standards to ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines until 2035.
Countries participating in Friday’s meeting include China, Australia, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which will host COP27 in November.
Chinese President Xi Jinping did not attend the meeting; China was instead represented by its climate envoy Xi Zhenhua, officials said.
A senior administration official said that Zhenhua and US climate envoy John Kerry had met several times in the past month and continued work on an agreement the two sides announced at COP26 in Glasgow last year that it was “strengthening” and a top priority. “.
“We are committed to working with them on topics such as their plan to tackle methane emissions in China for the first time,” he said. “Of course, we are also committed to other topics, including the energy transition and illegal deforestation in China.
The United States is facing a steep path to achieving its own emissions target
As promising as Biden’s early goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States have been, progress has been mixed, according to an independent analysis.
After re-joining the Paris Agreement after taking office, Biden announced a goal to halve US emissions from 2005 levels – a record high year for global warming emissions – by 2030.
To do this, the non-partisan research firm Rhodium Group has identified three main things that need to happen: Biden will need to shift huge investments in clean energy through Congress, pass several ambitious federal regulations to reduce emissions from things like vehicles. power plants and industry and countries will have to make significant progress.
On Thursday, Rhodium published a progress report showing little progress and a quick window of action.
Rhodium Group partner John Larsen told CNN that the things Biden has managed to do so far – including passing his bipartisan infrastructure bill and going through some government regulations – are still toiling around the edge of his Paris engagement.
“All the items with big tickets are either in a detained model or at a very early stage,” Larsen told CNN.
The biggest one left unfulfilled is the climate and clean energy package passing through Congress. Negotiations between West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on a limited spending package that is likely to include clean energy tax credits are ongoing – but it is unclear whether they will reach a deal.
The deadline for passing such legislation is extremely tight, as Democrats risk losing their majority in November.
Larsen said the Biden Environmental Protection Agency has several regulations that are in the works or are just beginning, which could lead to a breach. But even that has obstacles.
Another obstacle to progress is the impending Supreme Court ruling on EPA’s power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, which could limit the administration’s tools to reduce global warming gases in the electricity sector.
“When [White House national climate adviser] Gina McCarthy says the federal government has all the tools to reach the goal, almost certainly so, “Larsen said.” But how they use those tools and how ambitious they choose to be will almost certainly be affected by whether there are current legislation.”
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