The United States will meet its emissions targets by 2030, President Joe Biden said during his 23-minute speech at COP27 on Friday, Nov. 11.
The U.S. is “putting our money where our mouth is,” Biden said, offering an overview of his administration’s policies to address the effects of climate change.
“The upheaval we’re seeing around the world, especially Russia’s brutal attack against Ukraine is exacerbating food shortages, and energy spikes and costs, increasing volatility in those energy markets, driving up global inflation,” Biden said. It is now more urgent than ever to “double down” on climate commitments, he said.
During the conference, poorer nations demanded financial and technological help to cope with the “loss and damage” brought upon by climate change. U.S. officials at the summit said they are committed to engaging in the discussions but did not make further promises. Biden said other countries should act alongside the U.S. to “permanently bend the emissions curve.”
Relevant: COP27: Poor Countries Demand Funding From Wealthy Nations
Earlier this year, Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides for at least $374 billion in climate and clean energy measures.
U.S. officials said at COP27 that President Joe Biden plans to toughen a crackdown on oil and gas industry methane leaks. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in 2021 a proposal to require oil and gas operators to monitor its 300,000 biggest well sites quarterly to find and fix leaks. The new plan outlined during the climate conference in Egypt would extend that by requiring monitoring of all of the U.S. well sites – which are about one million in total. According to EPA, the new rules will bring down methane from the oil and gas industry by 87% below 2005 levels.
Biden’s speech was met with mixed reactions, as protesters briefly interrupted it, while COP27 attendees gave it a standing ovation at the end of his remarks.
Read more: Climate Bill Passes Senate — What’s In It And What Does It Do?
