Around the United States, 40 world leaders are gathering virtually, Thursday 22 and Friday 23 April, on the occasion of a summit aimed at making firmer commitments to protect the planet.
A meeting that marks the great return of the United States in climate negotiations, when former President Donald Trump had withdrawn the country from the Paris climate agreement.
On the first day of the summit, warning of "the cost of inaction" and stressing the "moral and economic imperative" of the climate fight, US President Joe Biden announced he was would commit to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of the United States from 50% to 52% by 2030 compared to 2005. A goal "very ambitious, but still achievable", say climate change advocates. This commitment almost doubles Washington's former target of a decrease of between 26% and 28% by 2025.
The day before, the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU) got ahead of the United States by making commitments themselves allowing the continent to become the first in the world to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The objectives set under this European agreement would improve the Paris target by 40% by 2030 by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by the end of the decade compared to 1990 levels .
Joe Biden's summit should therefore revive the debate for all countries and accelerate climate objectives at a critical time.
Indeed, according to a study by the UN World Meteorological Organization on the state of the climate published on Monday, the year 2020 ranked as the hottest on record, tied with 2016 and 2019.
Today I'm bringing together leaders from around the world to meet this moment of climate peril, and extraordinary opportunity.
No nation can solve this crisis on its own, and this summit is a step on a path to a secure, prosperous, and sustainable future.
https://t.co/lcUUsgyEo3
- President Biden (@POTUS) April 22, 2021
Separately, Joe Biden's summit comes ahead of the next major UN climate summit (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, in November, where countries signatory to the Paris Agreement are expected to update their targets for emissions for the next decade.
Before the summit led by the United States, France 24 spoke with Åsa Persson, research director of the Stockholm Environment Institute, to identify the issues and analyze the room for maneuver of leaders in order to achieve a more enterprising discourse. on the climate.
France 24: The EU has beaten Joe Biden by setting ambitious carbon emissions targets. Are these objectives sufficient?
Åsa Persson:
It is extremely important that the EU continues to show such climate leadership in order to get other countries to join this race. As for the 2030 targets, it's a little less than what science demands, but it's a good deal as it is a deal that enjoys broad support, because it cuts across political parties and states.
This new EU commitment sends a strong signal: we must have more intense action and no backtracking must be made on the strategies adopted.
At the end of the day, we can debate target levels, but what matters to the climate is the outcome.
Today we need to work with the goals that have been agreed upon and move on to measuring results.
A report from the Global Energy Monitor shows that while China has pledged to achieve 'net zero emissions' by 2060, it has created enough coal-fired power plants in 2020 to reverse the number of plant closings. Is she waiting for the rest of the world to get involved before making real changes?
The world is certainly waiting for more concrete plans on how to achieve 'net zero emissions' targets. However, the new data is very disturbing and it shows a lack of consistency. We see this in many countries that continue to invest in the production of fossil fuels while offsetting climate targets. However, the Chinese coal industry is done on a much larger scale, so it is important that China engages and shows how it intends to be consistent with its policy.
What is important to note with this summit is that it is partly about international diplomacy and about countries showing leadership and inspiring others to join them.
However, for a country to set itself ambitious goals, there must be strong domestic support: any new goal must make sense in terms of domestic policy.
The report released on Monday showed that in 2020, temperatures rose 1.2 ° C from pre-industrial levels. Given this grim outlook, what would constitute a positive outcome to these talks?
Three things.
The first and most urgent: that countries immediately stop investing in fossil fuels to ensure that their economic recovery from the pandemic is green.
Many have promised it, but it has yet to be done.
On the other hand, if more countries announced targets for 2030, as the United States should do, that would be a positive step.
Finally, more countries should commit to providing climate finance to vulnerable and developing countries.
Faced with more extreme weather conditions, disasters and challenges, it is very important that new solidarity financial commitments are made.
We already have a Green Climate Fund.
The United States has been late in disbursing its share, however, it has announced a major commitment in this regard and is therefore catching up.
Having said that, if you look at the total level, all developed countries should provide additional funding.
Emmanuel Macron admitted to having made a mistake in underestimating the impact of his "green transition" policy on ordinary citizens, especially with regard to the tax on diesel.
What should leaders do to ensure that the cost of slowing global warming is shared more fairly?
This is the key question: to seriously begin our climate transition by changing our energy system, our transport systems, and even the way we produce food.
First, we need to think about how we create good jobs associated with this big change.
Then, like the French example, special attention must be paid to inequalities in order to ensure that the transition and climate policies do not disproportionately affect the poorest or vulnerable groups.
This requires employing compensation mechanisms and targeted support to ensure that existing inequalities are not reinforced, and for leaders to provide a compelling vision of what a society that meets climate goals would look like.
Of course, it is always an interaction between industry and government because the latter sets framework conditions and ambitious objectives.
But we need courageous industry leaders to change their models and innovate.
This week, a new report from the International Energy Agency predicts a rebound in carbon emissions this year after they fell last year due to the pandemic.
Indeed, as the economy opens up, there is a compensation effect.
While the major summit will be COP 26 in Glasgow, what is positive for the United States with this meeting is that they are trying to build momentum and want to help stabilize the global climate.
What are the challenges of these climate negotiations compared to five years ago and the Paris climate agreement?
These are the same issues: the health of our planet, the security and prosperity of humans.
But the imperative is different at this stage because we have a very short time to accelerate the green transition.
Today we are five years younger, so it is even more urgent.
Adapted from the English by Pauline Rouquette. Find here the article in its original version.
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