November 1, 2021
The disappointment relates to the fact that Russia, and … not only Russia but China basically didn’t show up in terms of any commitments to deal with climate changes.
Pres. Biden on the G-20 meeting in Rome, Italy before he heads to a major U.N. Climate Change summit.
- The G-20 is a gathering of the world’s most powerful and emerging economies.
- The meeting in Rome served as a precursor to the United Nations’ larger climate change meeting, being held currently in Scotland.
- This comment by President Biden, directly calling out Russia and China (whose leaders did not attend in person), is unusual and notable.
- The U.S. also doesn’t have firm framework about climate change proposals in a new domestic spending package that has yet to pass through Congress, despite the president’s framework and urging.
- Why It Matters: Through these two meetings, world leaders have the opportunity to clearly communicate their policy commitments for combating global climate change. But while we’ll watch their words, their actions also matter – and that’s been one of the challenges on this topic: building consensus and action.
by Jenna Lee,
