Obama says action is lacking to control climate change 0:45
(CNN) -
Former President Barack Obama attended the COP26 international climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday as climate envoy John Kerry knew the Biden administration needed help to convince the world that the United States was serious about combat climate change.
But just as Obama expressed regret over former President Donald Trump's "four years of active hostility to climate science" and the climate denial that defines the modern Republican Party, he also expressed a deeper and broader concern that politics throughout the world is not doing what needs to be done to save the planet.
Biden warns at COP26 that climate crisis threatens 'human existence'
"I recognize that we are living in a time when international cooperation has stunted, in part because of the pandemic, in part because of the rise in nationalism and tribal impulses around the world, and in part because of the lack of leadership from the United States during four years on a series of multilateral issues, "Obama said.
Obama's speech came a week after President Joe Biden himself appeared at the conference, during which he explicitly apologized for Trump's abandonment of the Paris climate accords.
And it came amid great international doubts that Biden, Congress or the United States are really taking climate change seriously, regardless of what Obama says.
Strong message from Greta Thunberg to thousands of protesters 1:11
Obama said the United States is reengaging with the world on climate, and tried to convince the world that the United States has stayed on track, even during the Trump years, while questions linger at the conference about how The United States plans to make up for lost time.
Scientists Blame Climate Change For US Wildfires;
Trump disagrees
"Of course, back in the United States, some of our progress stalled when my successor decided to unilaterally withdraw from the Paris Agreement in his first year in office. He was not very happy with that," Obama said.
But he said these wasted years are no reason to lose faith in the power of what global cooperation can accomplish, or even in America's commitment to climate.
Despite Trump, Obama said, "the American people kept our original commitment under the Paris Agreement."
advertising
"Not only that, but the rest of the world stayed in the agreement. And now, with President Biden and his administration rejoining the agreement, the United States government is once again committed and ready to take a leadership role."
"Cynicism is the resource of cowards"
The former president advocated that climate change be the only issue that transcends politics.
And Obama said he has his own doubts that this is possible, and that he is trying to combat it.
"We are not yet anywhere near where we need to be. To begin with, despite the progress that Paris has made, most countries have not complied with the action plans that were set six years ago," he said.
"As I am sure is the case with all of you, there are times when I feel discouraged, when the future looks bleak and I doubt that humanity can agree before it is too late," Obama said.
"And the images of dystopia begin to creep into my dreams. And yet every time I feel that discouragement, I remind myself that cynicism is the resource of cowards. We cannot afford hopelessness."
Obama's appearance at an international conference is an unusual move for a former president, as is his public criticism of his successor, the closest Obama came to saying Trump's name.
His criticism of current foreign leaders is also unusual, as he singled out President Xi Jinping of China and President Vladimir Putin of Russia for not attending COP26.
Obama called that decision "especially discouraging", adding that "their national plans reflect what appears to be a dangerous absence of urgency, a willingness to maintain the status quo, on the part of these two countries."
The countries that pollute the most today 0:43
Obama's message to young people
Addressing the younger members of the public, Obama said "they are right to be frustrated."
"For most of their lives, they have been bombarded with warnings about what the future will be like if we don't address climate change," Obama said.
"And they have grown up seeing how many of the adults who are in a position to do something about it act as if the problem does not exist or refuse to make the tough decisions necessary to address it."
Returning to a theme that has repeatedly touched on in the electoral campaign in his country, Obama asked young people not to abandon politics.
"Vote as if your life depended on it," he said, as "the cold and hard fact is that we will not have more ambitious plans against climate change unless governments support them."
But he cautioned that young people must rethink their approach. Obama pointed out that, first and foremost, young people have to "vote on the issue", and took up another issue that he had already expressed before: that today's youth confuse online activism with making a difference.
"Protests are necessary to raise awareness.
Hashtag
campaigns
can spread the word. But to build the broad-based coalitions necessary for bold action, we have to persuade people who currently disagree or are indifferent to the issue." Obama said. "We have to listen a little more. We cannot just yell at them or tweet at them, it is not enough to make them uncomfortable by blocking traffic with protests. We are going to have to listen to the objections and reluctance of ordinary people who consider that their countries are moving too fast. on climate change. We have to understand their realities and work with them so that serious action on climate change does not negatively affect them. "
Climate crisis denial is a thing of the past, says expert
Obama insisted that local governments and many private companies remain committed to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, despite Trump's withdrawal of the federal government.
They should believe in Biden's commitment now, he added, and said he has faith that a broader "Build Back Better" plan, with more extensive climate measures, will pass soon in Congress, despite delays in Washington from last week, which led to a vote on only one of the infrastructure bills.
Congress approves Biden's infrastructure plan 2:57
Nonetheless, Obama praised the "significant progress" made by world leaders through agreements reached last week in Scotland, such as those related to combating methane emissions and deforestation, as well as those signed by two dozen of countries, including the United States, to end public subsidies for fossil fuels and commit to completely ending the use of coal.
During his time in Scotland, Obama will also meet with various groups of climate leaders, as well as business and philanthropic leaders, and local elected officials.
It was introduced by an Obama Foundation leader who is a representative of the Northern Mariana Islands, and will spend time with several others during the trip.
Obama had championed addressing environmental issues during his tenure, but Trump, a longtime climate crisis denier, sought to remove many of the political barriers set up by the Obama administration to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Since taking office, Biden has reversed many of these actions by the Trump administration and made ambitious promises to address the climate crisis.
It should be noted that the climate summit is held five years after the entry into force of the Paris Agreement.
In 2015, after COP21, more than 190 countries joined the then agreement to limit the rise in global temperatures to well below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, but preferably 1.5 degrees.
Biden: The first thing I did was go back to the Paris Agreement 0:33
Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement after Trump withdrew the United States, apologizing to his fellow world leaders in remarks made on the first day of COP26.
"I suppose I should not apologize, but I do apologize for the fact that the United States - the last administration - withdrew from the Paris Accords," the president said last week in Glasgow.
- CNN's Jeff Zeleny and Kate Sullivan contributed to this report. Angela Dewan reported from Glasgow.
Barack Obama Climate Change
