For many environmental defenders
"this is the most decisive decade in the history of humanity to face the climate crisis",
according to a letter sent this Sunday to the Democrat signed by 153 world leaders, activists, executive directors, officials, NGO leaders and other public figures.
Just hours after Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, the United States returned to the Paris Agreement to combat climate change.
Another of his measures that marked his move away from fossil fuels was the
cancellation of the permit for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline
.
On the updated White House website, climate change ranks second on the priority list.
Although some environmentalists see in the new Government a radical change with respect to the previous Administration, they do not take their finger off the line.
Joe Biden walks past solar panels while touring the Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative in Plymouth, New Hampshire, the United States, on June 4, 2019. REUTERS
Those who subscribe to the letter assure that Biden "can be remembered as the
'climate president
' who took humanity away from the edge of the precipice."
[The United States returns to the Paris Climate Agreement with Biden. This is what environmental defenders ask you]
And you are tasked with no small task: “You can
transform the world's energy systems from fossil fuels to clean energy
, while creating abundant jobs, reducing harmful pollution, and addressing economic, racial and economic inequality. health in the process ”.
The United States is the
second largest carbon emitter in the world
, after China.
Adhering to the Paris agreements could put the United States on a path to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 40-50% by 2030, experts say.
This agreement commits 195 countries to establish a goal to reduce carbon pollution and to control and report on their fossil fuel emissions.
[With Trump away, Joe Biden vows to bring the truth back to the White House]
The new ambassador for the climate, John Kerry, said Thursday that there is still much to do and lamented the
"lost years"
under the government of Donald Trump.
Scientists warn of a collapse of civilization if drastic measures are not taken
Jan. 17, 202101: 30
The past Administration canceled or weakened nearly 100 laws to protect the environment and people's health that Biden promised to reinstate.
Although experts have warned that it could take two to three years to restore environmental protections.
Kerry also pointed out that no country in the world is meeting what is necessary to reach the goal of not being dependent on coal for the economy by 2050. And he warned that coal needs to be phased out five times faster than today,
increasing the solar power six times faster
and accelerate the transition to electric vehicles 22 times faster.
Although it presents important challenges, the climate crisis "is also the
greatest economic opportunity
for innovation, business creation and investment," add those who sign the letter.
[Biden signs executive orders to reverse Trump's most controversial policies]
In Texas, for example, the growing solar industry is offering jobs to professionals in the fossil fuel industry who have been made unemployed by the oil crash caused by the pandemic.
"Our children and grandchildren must see this as the moment the world was saved," the letter concludes.
With information from AP.
