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Image: U.S. Embassy in France, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
By WW0 Staff
For the United States, the post-Trump, pre-COP26 road to Glasgow has been paved with ambition and humility.In a major speech, the President’s Envoy, John Kerry, previewed the results of his climate diplomacy before heading into two weeks of intense deliberations of world leaders.
Speaking at theLondon School of Economics — a nod toCOP 26’s UK hosts, Kerry struck a tone of determined optimism. He argued that “Glasgow has already summoned more climate ambition than the world has ever seen.” He pointed to recent announcements fromJapan,Indonesia,South Africa,Canada, and theUnited States as evidence that “nations representing nearly 65% of global GDP will arrive in Glasgow committed to the 1.5 limit — including more than half of the top 20 economies in the world.” He particularly emphasized areas of promise, from a Global Methane Pledge to private sector commitments and promising technology.
The US acknowledges it’s been the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the past, but today the country contributes only about 12% of emissions, and even that number is dropping. In April, the US committed to reducing emissions even further — to 50-52% of 2005 levels by 2030. More of the world needs to increase its emissions reductions targets and strengthen their commitments at COP26 in order to make the progress the world needs. That America’s top diplomat struck an optimistic note heading into Glasgow is important, but he also stressed difficult challenges ahead: “Some countries are still building new, carbon-polluting coal plants, and planning to break ground on more … At Glasgow, it will all be held up to scrutiny — with transparency and accountability.”
Next week, the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow will draw hundreds of world leaders to Glasgow to determine the path forward five years after the Paris Climate Agreement (for a primer, read this) as new science underscores the urgency. The conference aims to squeeze countries to strengthen the commitments they’ve made towards securing global net-zero […]
By Amy Lupica, ODP Daily Editor In a report released last week, the Department of Defense (DOD) confirmed that existing risks and security challenges in the US are being made worse due to “increasing temperatures; changing precipitation patterns; and more frequent, intense, and unpredictable extreme weather conditions caused by climate change. Now, the Pentagon is […]
By Amy Lupica, ODP Daily Editor With less than one week left until COP26, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has moved his government to the left on climate change, committing for the first time to a net zero target by 2050, but questions remain about the details and many remain frustrated by Morrison’s refusal to […]
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