Story at a glance
- Biden rejoined the High Ambition Coalition after former President Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement.
- The group hopes to gain global support of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and establishing net zero global emissions by the second half of the century.
- Biden also called out Russia and China for their lack of commitment in combating climate change.
President Biden took another big step in committing to combat climate change, rejoining the High Ambition Coalition at the United Nations climate talks. The US will join a group of countries committed to limiting the warming of Earth by 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Established back in 2015 at the UN COP21, the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) was responsible for including key elements of climate action in the Paris Agreement, like limiting the warming of Earth to only 1.5 degrees Celsius, establishing a pathway to net zero global emissions by the second half of the century and a five-year schedule for countries to update and reaffirm their climate change commitments, called nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
According to The Guardian, Biden has rejoined the HAC, something former President Trump left after pulling the US out of the Paris Agreement. Biden joined the group in releasing a statement today, urging global nations to commit to aggressive action to address the climate crisis.
Originally created by The Republic of Marshall Islands, the HAC was intended to bring countries together, rich and poor, to galvanize broad support for climate change commitments. According to the group, the UN’s current COP26 conference will serve as, “the first litmus test of the efficacy and longevity of the Paris Agreement. So just as it did in the lead up to COP-21, the HAC will once again play a key role in promoting ambition in the run up to COP-26.”
However, as Biden convened at a G20 summit ahead of the COP26 climate conference, he publicly called out Russia and China for their lack of commitment to fight climate change during the COP26, “Not only Russia, but China, basically didn’t show up in terms of any commitments to deal with climate change. There’s a reason why people should be disappointed in that. I found it disappointing myself,” said Biden to reporters, according to CBS News.
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Getting every country to commit to aggressive climate action may not be possible, as John Kerry, US climate envoy, told The Guardian last month ahead of COP26: “Glasgow has to show strong commitment to keeping 1.5C in reach, but that does not mean every country will get there. We acknowledge that there will be a gap [between the emissions cuts countries offer and those needed for a 1.5C limit]. The question is, will we have created a critical mass? We are close to that.”
The HAC hopes to create that critical mass, and now has the US reaffirming its role in participating in the group’s efforts. It also has other elements at its disposal, like the UN’s recent Emissions Gas Report, which analyzed countries’ NDCs and found that most did not currently have policies in place to achieve their commitments. It also warned that even if all NDCs from the Paris Agreement were implemented, global warming would only be limited by about 2.7 degrees Celsius.
The HAC still has time to shore up further support from countries as talks at COP26 continue on until November 12.
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