US President Joe Biden has invited the 40 heads of state and government of the most important nations to the climate summit.
Not everything went according to plan.
Washington / Paris - US President Joe Biden is currently inviting you to a virtual climate summit.
The democrat connected 40 heads of state and government to an online conference.
The meeting is intended to underline the urgency and the economic benefits of stronger climate protection measures on the way to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November - but it did not go without a breakdown.
Joe Biden's climate summit: Macron's speech interrupted - Putin not yet ready
The speech by French President Emmanuel Macron was suddenly interrupted at the virtual climate summit in Washington.
“Thank you very much, Mr. President.
I now hand over to the President of Russia, His Excellency Vladimir Putin, "said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken amid Macron's speech on Thursday at the summit.
The speech was broadcast on a screen.
Macron continued to speak at first, then President Putin was added, but he was apparently not yet ready for his speech - and only began to speak after a while.
Macron then got a second chance later - his speech was shown again in full.
Shortly afterwards, it was said from Élysée circles that there had been a technical problem on the US side.
Climate summit: USA wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half - including Germany
Ultimately, however, the technical faux pas remained an exception and the participants were able to turn to the climate issue again.
The new US administration wants to put the fight against climate change at the center of its foreign and security policy and play a pioneering role.
With a new set of goals of its own, Washington wants to persuade other countries to adopt more ambitious intentions.
The United States had announced that it would cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 compared to 2005.
Germany has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent compared to the reference year 1990, said Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was also involved.
The Federal Republic will make its contribution to the now binding EU target of reducing greenhouse gases by 55 percent by 2030, Merkel said.
Climate summit: EU pledges to reduce greenhouse gases
In addition to Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin, China's head of state Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have agreed to attend the two-day summit.
The US and China are the world's largest producers of carbon dioxide, so their efforts are particularly important.
According to the White House, no invitee has canceled.
On the day before the climate summit, the European Union officially committed itself to reducing greenhouse gases by at least 55 percent by 2030 and an economy without new climate loads by 2050. If the EU wants to achieve its new goals, it will have to completely reorganize its economy in the coming years. The hope is that the US, China and other major polluters will join in to stop dangerous global warming.
(as / dpa)
