A few weeks before COP26, President Biden unveiled Friday, September 17 a draft agreement with the European Union on the reduction of methane emissions, urging the world to display "
its greatest ambitions
" to fight global warming.
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"
We are working with the European Union and other partners (...) on a global promise to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels
", announced the President American at a virtual summit with the President of the European Commission, the head of the UN and the leaders of several major economies of the planet.
This "
will not only reduce the rate of global warming, but will also generate other very important benefits, especially in terms of public health,
" he said, describing this goal as "
ambitious, but realistic.
".
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who attended the meeting, pledged the UK to be one of the first signatories to the deal.
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030
Joe Biden assured that the United States was also taking other concrete steps to meet its commitments in the Paris Agreement, such as the pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% by 2030 by compared to 2005 levels. But he lamented the extreme weather phenomena that the world is already facing despite these commitments, taking for example the recent floods and devastating fires this summer in the United States. This constitutes a "
red alert for humanity
" and underlines "
the need for all of us to act immediately,
" argued President Biden. “
We have to come to Glasgow with our biggest ambitions. For those who have not yet done so, time is running out,
”he insisted.
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Last month, the latest report from IPCC scientists warned of a risk of reaching the 1.5 ° C threshold around 2030, ten years earlier than estimated, threatening humanity with new unprecedented disasters.
The tenant of the White House convened this virtual summit - with the notable absences of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian and Indian leaders - in order to best prepare the COP26 scheduled for November.
But "
without concrete commitments from each country in this room, the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 ° C will elude us, which would be a disaster,
" warned Joe Biden.
About forty leaders will also meet at a closed-door summit on September 20, on the eve of the official opening of the debates of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, anxious to boost the mobilization of States before Glasgow. “
Our goal this year is to strengthen ambitions by preparing for Glasgow,
” he said, “
but Glasgow is not our final destination
”.
