The situation in the morning: This is how Joe Biden wants to vaccinate the world in a year

Today is about Joe Biden's corona summit, which is set to lead the world out of the pandemic by the end of 2022.

It is also about China, which no longer finances coal-fired power plants abroad - and about Armin Laschet's strange election video.

Joe Biden aims to end the pandemic by the end of 2022

U.S. President

Joe Biden is

holding a virtual Covid-19 summit today. The goal:

70 percent of the world's population should be vaccinated by one year - the corona pandemic should be over by the end of 2022.

How is he going to achieve that? On the sidelines of the UN General Assemblies, world leaders, international organizations, pharmaceutical companies as well as private donors and NGOs should jointly decide on an action plan: vaccines should be made affordable and available, and the populations in poor countries should be vaccinated quickly.

While the vaccination issue has been politicized in rich countries, while in the USA only 55 percent of the population are fully vaccinated - and booster vaccinations are already being distributed in many rich countries, the situation is bleak in poorer countries:

the UN vaccination program Covax, the to provide vaccine to poor countries is lagging behind all plans

. In Africa, fewer than four percent of the population are vaccinated. It would take billions of doses of vaccine to achieve Biden's goal. The richest countries in the world would have to donate many of them. How this can be achieved when third-party vaccinations are being administered in many places at the same time is not yet known.

Biden's initiative is to be welcomed - and it is to be hoped that it will be received more enthusiastically than his keynote address on foreign policy at the UN General Assembly.

Our US correspondent Marc Pitzke from New York reports that the audience reacted cautiously:

• Joe Biden's inaugural speech at the UN: The US is back - please believe us!

China wants to end global coal financing

The biggest surprise at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday was the speech by

China's President Xi Jinping

, who was connected via video from Beijing: China will no longer build any new coal-fired power plants abroad.

Instead, developing countries will be supported to

switch

to

green energy

.

This is a big deal in the fight against climate change, because

China is by far the world's largest financier of coal projects

: As part of the New Silk Road, China financed coal-fired power plants in Africa, Asia and South America on a massive scale. According to a group of NGOs, the Bank of China alone has invested around $ 35 billion in coal projects abroad since the Paris Agreement of 2015.

Japan and South Korea had previously withdrawn from international coal financing.

This means that the three largest investor countries have withdrawn (by the way, Germany is in fourth place):

The international financing for new coal-fired power plants is drying up

.

The Chinese decision is helping to end the age of coal-fired power generation.

In Germany, according to the plans of the current federal government, this should finally end in 2038.

In this context, I recommend researching my SPIEGEL colleagues Kevin Hagen and Claus Hecking: You have observed that Union politicians like

Armin Laschet and Friedrich Merz have

recently

been flirting with nuclear power again

during the election campaign

.

What's behind it?

• Armin Laschet and the Union: Nuclear power is back - at least in the election campaign

Poland's government is escalating the conflict with Europe

In the heavily burdened

relationship between Warsaw and Brussels

, an escalation could follow today:

At the request of the national Catholic government,

Poland's constitutional court

should decide whether national law takes precedence over European law - this would mean that Poland would violate a basic principle of the EU treaties.

European courts and the EU Commission could respond with massive penalties,

up to and including daily fines in the millions

.

The conflict is about the

Polish judicial reform

: It has led to a politicization of the judiciary, according to the European Court of Justice it is no longer independent in parts.

On Monday, the conflict between Poland and the Union came to a head in another area: the European Court of Justice imposed a fine of 500,000 euros a day on Poland. Because the government has violated the court order to stop the mining of lignite in the border area between Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. The Czech government had sued out of concern about the drinking water supply. The Polish government sees energy security at risk - and refuses. Above all, however, the rule of law in the EU is at risk.

Warsaw is behaving increasingly rowdy - and gives the other member states a choice

: Either they accept Polish behavior and the basis on which the EU is built crumbles.

Or they severely punish Poland - and risk driving the country into an even deeper conflict with the EU.

• Eight billion - The foreign podcast: The future of the EU will be decided by the fate of Poland

Podcast: Does Natural Gas Solve Our Coal Problem?

In the first half of 2021, natural gas was the third most important energy source in Germany, just behind coal and wind power.

German companies are investing huge sums in the gas industry: the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline was recently completed, and one of the most modern gas-fired power plants in Europe went into operation in Kiel two years ago.

For many engineers, natural gas is a bridging technology to renewable energies.

But is that even true?

Is it worth investing in natural gas even though Germany wants to be climate neutral soon?

This is what this week's "Climate Report" is about - the SPIEGEL podcast on the state of the planet.

• Podcast Climate Report: Does Natural Gas Solve the Coal Problem?

Loser of the day ...

... for me is

Armin Laschet's campaign team

. You can call it bad luck or bad craft, one thing is certain: It published an election commercial in which Laschet is shown how he promotes willingness to enter into dialogue with those who think differently. Actually a praiseworthy quality - and in fact, Laschet had solved the unpleasant situation with a lateral thinker who yelled at him at close range two weeks ago, relatively quick-witted.

But why did Laschet have to be shown in an election commercial together with this man, who demonstrably belongs to the radical right-wing corona denial scene

, likes to pose with Reich citizens and praises the Reich flag in videos? And why does the text read: "... talk, even with those who have a critical attitude - yes, especially with them"? Didn't Laschet's team know who it was?

If such a spot is published on a day of all things, on which a radical mask opponent murdered a 20-year-old at a gas station and many people in the country are extremely shocked by it, then that is at least unfortunate.

Yesterday was supposed to be a day of success for Laschet:

Angela Merkel campaigned for him for the first time

: in her old constituency, in Stralsund.

It was pouring rain.

Read here how it went otherwise.

The latest news from the night

• Taliban demand speaking time at the UN general debate:

  Five weeks ago the Taliban took over power in Afghanistan - now they are demanding speaking time at the United Nations.

  A corresponding letter is currently being examined by the UN

• Missing Gabby Petito was the victim of homicide:

  The examination

  by the coroner

  revealed that the woman's body discovered in Wyoming is Gabby Petito.

  According to the investigators, it must be assumed that there is third-party negligence

• Hundreds of people protest against the reconciliation

  agreement

  with Germany:

  Germany has reached a genocide compensation agreement with Namibia.

  Parliament has yet to ratify it.

  Now hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets - the amount of compensation was too low

The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today

• Impending US insolvency: "A sad spectacle for our country"

• Long Covid Cure Trial: A Quantum of Hope?

• Deal with the US and UK: Why Australia opted against the French submarines

• When the dairy farmer met the Chancellor: "Unfortunately, the cow calf only survived the visit for a few days."

• If a Syrian comes to Rotenburg (Wümme): An anniversary, 1000 congratulations

I wish you a good start this Wednesday.

Sincerely,

your Mathieu von Rohr