See you tomorrow - after work and shopping. 
Post by Sunday on Nov 12, 2020 20:37:27 GMT -5
Joe Biden's climate pledge could help 'make our planet great again', Emmanuel Macron says
European leaders hope a Biden administration focus on climate change will encourage other countries to pledge deeper emissions cuts.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday welcomed the prospect of US President-elect Joe Biden rejoining the Paris climate accord, saying countries now had a chance to “make our planet great again”.
His comments follow those of other leaders who have welcomed Mr Biden’s victory as a boost to global cooperation on tackling climate change, after four years of climate policy inaction under President Donald Trump.
In contrast to Mr Trump, who questioned climate science and withdrew the United States from the 2015 accord, Mr Biden has pledged to rejoin the pact and to invest $2 trillion to wean the country off planet-warming fossil fuels.
Mr Macron said having the United States rejoin the pact, after officially exiting on 4 November would vindicate faith in the agreement aimed at preventing catastrophic climate change and signed by nearly 200 countries.
“It is proof that we had to stand firm against all the headwinds,” Mr Macron said on Thursday during an online summit hosted by the French government.
“‘Make our planet great again’ is a possibility, not just in words but also in deed,” Mr Macron said.
“Make America Great Again” was a Trump election slogan. In 2017, Mr Macron launched an initiative called “Make our planet great again” which offered US climate scientists multi-year grants to relocate and conduct climate research in France.
Mr Biden has pledged to convene world leaders for climate talks within his first 100 days in office. Already, climate change has been a featured topic in his first calls with US allies and Pope Francis since being elected.
However, the Democrat may face constraints on his ability to pass ambitious climate policies if the Republican Party remains in control of the Senate.
European leaders hope a Biden administration focus on climate change will encourage other countries to pledge deeper emissions cuts ahead of a UN climate conference in Glasgow in November 2021.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government is hosting the gathering, discussed climate change in a post-election call with Mr Biden and invited him to attend.
European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans told an online event on Monday that he hoped US leadership on climate change would prompt China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, to strengthen its commitment to a low-carbon future.
Chinese President Xi Jinping in September pledged that his country would become carbon neutral by 2060. Beijing has made no official comment since the US election.
Climate change was also on the agenda in calls Mr Biden held Thursday with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and Australia, according to summaries provided by Mr Biden’s aides.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he and Mr Biden had “agreed that Japan and the US would work closely together to resolve pressing global issues such as the novel coronavirus and climate change”.
Japan and South Korea, big emitters of greenhouse gases from their coal-fired coal plants, both pledged in October to target net-zero emissions by 2050 in line with the Paris accord.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday welcomed the prospect of US President-elect Joe Biden rejoining the Paris climate accord, saying countries now had a chance to “make our planet great again”.
His comments follow those of other leaders who have welcomed Mr Biden’s victory as a boost to global cooperation on tackling climate change, after four years of climate policy inaction under President Donald Trump.
In contrast to Mr Trump, who questioned climate science and withdrew the United States from the 2015 accord, Mr Biden has pledged to rejoin the pact and to invest $2 trillion to wean the country off planet-warming fossil fuels.
Mr Macron said having the United States rejoin the pact, after officially exiting on 4 November would vindicate faith in the agreement aimed at preventing catastrophic climate change and signed by nearly 200 countries.
“It is proof that we had to stand firm against all the headwinds,” Mr Macron said on Thursday during an online summit hosted by the French government.
“‘Make our planet great again’ is a possibility, not just in words but also in deed,” Mr Macron said.
“Make America Great Again” was a Trump election slogan. In 2017, Mr Macron launched an initiative called “Make our planet great again” which offered US climate scientists multi-year grants to relocate and conduct climate research in France.
Mr Biden has pledged to convene world leaders for climate talks within his first 100 days in office. Already, climate change has been a featured topic in his first calls with US allies and Pope Francis since being elected.
However, the Democrat may face constraints on his ability to pass ambitious climate policies if the Republican Party remains in control of the Senate.
European leaders hope a Biden administration focus on climate change will encourage other countries to pledge deeper emissions cuts ahead of a UN climate conference in Glasgow in November 2021.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government is hosting the gathering, discussed climate change in a post-election call with Mr Biden and invited him to attend.
European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans told an online event on Monday that he hoped US leadership on climate change would prompt China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, to strengthen its commitment to a low-carbon future.
Chinese President Xi Jinping in September pledged that his country would become carbon neutral by 2060. Beijing has made no official comment since the US election.
Climate change was also on the agenda in calls Mr Biden held Thursday with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and Australia, according to summaries provided by Mr Biden’s aides.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he and Mr Biden had “agreed that Japan and the US would work closely together to resolve pressing global issues such as the novel coronavirus and climate change”.
Japan and South Korea, big emitters of greenhouse gases from their coal-fired coal plants, both pledged in October to target net-zero emissions by 2050 in line with the Paris accord.
Morrison and Biden speak about COVID-19 and emissions in first call
Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia and United States President-elect Joe Biden have spoken about how Australia tackled the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of carbon emissions reduction technology.
Amid doubts over the transfer of power from President Donald Trump, Mr Morrison and Mr Biden had a phone call on Thursday morning in which they also discussed the US-Australia alliance and defence ties.
Mr Morrison cited the defence relationship between Australia and the US and next year's 70th anniversary of the ANZUS Treaty, signed in 1951 to protect the Pacific, as reasons for confidence about the strength of the ties between the two countries.
"The President-elect was very interested in Australia's success here and what Australia could contribute from our lessons and ... the way that we have managed the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic dimensions of that as well," Mr Morrison told reporters.
The pair also spoke about the environmental challenges Australia and the US could work on together, "particularly in the areas of emissions-reducing technologies".
Mr Biden will commit the US to a target of net zero emissions by 2050, but Australia has not agreed to hit that mark over the next three decades.
Mr Morrison invited Mr Biden to visit Australia next year to mark the 70th anniversary of the ANZUS relationship, which he said had remained strong through many presidents and prime ministers.
Mr Morrison and his office are confident of building a strong relationship with Mr Biden, given the US leader's visit to Australia four years ago when he was vice-president in the Obama administration.
"In my view, Australians are defined by their character; by the grit, their integrity, their unyielding resilience that has shaped this nation from the very beginning," Mr Biden said in a speech in Paddington Town Hall in Sydney in July 2016. "And it's that character, in my view, which has always drawn Australians and Americans together – because we recognise it, I believe, in one another."
Mr Biden cited the experience of Australia and the US in World War II as proof they would remain strong allies in the Pacific.
Amid doubts over the transfer of power from President Donald Trump, Mr Morrison and Mr Biden had a phone call on Thursday morning in which they also discussed the US-Australia alliance and defence ties.
Mr Morrison cited the defence relationship between Australia and the US and next year's 70th anniversary of the ANZUS Treaty, signed in 1951 to protect the Pacific, as reasons for confidence about the strength of the ties between the two countries.
"The President-elect was very interested in Australia's success here and what Australia could contribute from our lessons and ... the way that we have managed the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic dimensions of that as well," Mr Morrison told reporters.
The pair also spoke about the environmental challenges Australia and the US could work on together, "particularly in the areas of emissions-reducing technologies".
Mr Biden will commit the US to a target of net zero emissions by 2050, but Australia has not agreed to hit that mark over the next three decades.
Mr Morrison invited Mr Biden to visit Australia next year to mark the 70th anniversary of the ANZUS relationship, which he said had remained strong through many presidents and prime ministers.
Mr Morrison and his office are confident of building a strong relationship with Mr Biden, given the US leader's visit to Australia four years ago when he was vice-president in the Obama administration.
"In my view, Australians are defined by their character; by the grit, their integrity, their unyielding resilience that has shaped this nation from the very beginning," Mr Biden said in a speech in Paddington Town Hall in Sydney in July 2016. "And it's that character, in my view, which has always drawn Australians and Americans together – because we recognise it, I believe, in one another."
Mr Biden cited the experience of Australia and the US in World War II as proof they would remain strong allies in the Pacific.
