Story at a glance
- Former President Obama addressed the COP26 climate conference Monday.
- Obama said that despite “four years of active hostility toward climate science coming from the top of our federal government,” the U.S. made progress toward its climate goals thanks to the efforts of state and local governments and private businesses.
- Despite the progress, Obama emphasized that the U.S., which is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, and other countries must ramp up their response to the climate crisis.
Former President Obama on Monday took a swipe at his successor as he assured the world the U.S. is engaged and prepared to take a leadership role to combat climate change.
“Back in the United States, of course, some of our progress stalled when my successor decided to unilaterally pull out of the Paris agreement in his first year in office. I wasn’t real happy about that,” Obama said during a speech at the United Nations COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.
Obama said that despite “four years of active hostility toward climate science coming from the top of our federal government,” the U.S. made progress toward its climate goals thanks to the efforts of state and local governments and private businesses. He said the U.S. still met its original commitment under the Paris agreement.
“Even when the Trump administration rolled back emissions requirements for automakers, along with regulatory changes and efficiency standards, many businesses chose to stay the course. They kept reducing emissions. They continued to transition to electric vehicles and energy saving appliances. The ball had been rolling and it didn’t stop,” he said.
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Despite the progress, Obama emphasized that the U.S., which is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, and other countries must ramp up their response to the climate crisis.
“We are nowhere near where we need to be yet,” the former president said.
“For starters, despite the progress that Paris represented, most countries have failed to meet the action plans they set six years ago,” he said.
Obama also called out leaders from China and Russia — the number 1 and number 4 largest greenhouse gas emitters — for not attending the climate summit, saying it demonstrated a “dangerous lack of urgency.”
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