During President Joe Biden’s climate summit on Thursday, leaders from Brazil, Canada, and Japan pledged to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change. The promises come just days after Biden pledged to cut the US emissions by at least half by 2030, more than double the country’s previous promise under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The summit was called by the president to encourage global action on climate change. During the summit, Biden told world leaders, “It’s an inspiring start.” “We’re now starting to make some headway.” In a departure from his previous stance on climate change, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro pledged to stop illicit deforestation by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Bolsonaro has previously opposed the country’s woodland protections and threatened to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Brazil also requested $1 billion from the Biden administration, to fund restoration efforts in the Amazon rainforest. Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s Prime Minister, said that the country would commit to reduce pollution by 46 percent by 2030, relatively to 2013 levels. Japan, the world’s fifth largest emitter, had recently agreed to a 26% cut, which was dismissed as inadequate.
“Japan is eager to show its leadership in global decarbonization,” Suga said at the summit. Japan, like the United States, has vowed to achieve net-zero pollution by 2050. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged that Canada would reduce pollution by 40 to 45 percent by 2030 relative to 2005 levels, a significant improvement from the previous commitment of 30 percent. At the summit, Trudeau said, “We will continue to reinforce our agenda and take yet further actions on our path to net zero by 2050.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not set a new deadline but reiterated the country’s commitment to build 450 gigatonnes of clean energy by 2030. Modi has declared a partnership between India and the United States to develop a climate and clean energy agenda for 2030. India is the world’s third biggest emitter, behind China and the United States.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has vowed to “significantly” reduce the country’s emissions over the next three decades, and has stated that Russia plays a major role in absorbing global carbon dioxide. Putin also stated that the world has almost cut emissions in half, since 1990 and called for a global reduction in methane, a greenhouse gas 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide and a major contributor to climate change. “The fate of our entire world, each country’s growth prospects, people’s well-being and quality of life are all heavily dependent on the progress of these efforts,” Putin said at the summit.
President Xi Jinping of China reaffirmed China’s promise to peak emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Despite disagreements on trade and human rights, the United States and China have agreed to work together on climate change. South Korean President Moon Jae In, stated that the country would discontinue public funding of coal-fired power plants in other countries, and will make a stronger commitment to reduce pollution. Some countries thanked Biden for organising the summit and re-inserting the United States into the Paris Agreement. The administration of former President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal and suspended all government attempts to curb pollution.
“I am pleased to see that the United States has returned to cooperate with us in climate politics, because there is no question that the environment needs your contribution,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the summit. At the United Nations Climate Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, in November, nations under the Paris Agreement will unveil new carbon plans for the next decade.
