Biden told a large crowd of delegates at the talks, held in Egypt, that “the science is devastatingly clear – we have to make progress by the end of this decade.” The US president said America is taking action to reduce planet-warming emissions and that other major economies must “step up” to avoid a catastrophic 1.5C global warming exceedance. “Let us increase both the ambition and the speed of our efforts,” he said in his speech on Friday in Sharm el-Sheikh. “If we are going to win this race, every major emitter needs to align with 1.5C. We can no longer plead ignorance of the consequences of our actions or continue to repeat our mistakes. Everyone must continue to accelerate progress during this decisive decade.” Biden, buoyed by better-than-expected midterm election results for Democrats this week, said governments needed to “record significant indicators of progress” in reducing emissions. Scientists have warned that the world is heading for catastrophic levels of global warming, with emissions not yet falling fast enough to avoid severe heatwaves, fires, droughts and other effects of the climate crisis. “It’s been a tough few years. the interconnected challenges we face can seem overwhelming,” said Biden, who accused Vladimir Putin of using “energy as a weapon” in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an action that has sent energy and food prices soaring worldwide . “Against this backdrop, it is more urgent than ever to double down on our climate commitment.” Biden, who was briefly interrupted by a small group of climate protesters, said the US was committed to helping developing countries hit hardest by climate impacts, but stopped short of providing “loss and damage” payments, the hot topic of Cop27 and the most pressing issue for vulnerable communities already suffering from worsening disasters. The protesters were young and indigenous activists from the US, calling on Biden to stop pushing fossil fuel extraction. “The president, members of Congress and the State Department have come to this international forum on climate change proposing bogus solutions that will not get us to 1.5 degrees,” said Big Wind, 29, a member of his tribe Northern Arapaho in Wyoming. Biden used the speech to unveil a series of new measures, including a plan to reduce US methane emissions, support for new early warning systems for extreme weather disasters in Africa and an agreement to support new solar and wind projects in Egypt in return the country decommissions natural gas power plants and reduces its emissions. The standout promise Biden has made is a plan to reduce methane, a potent greenhouse gas that regularly leaks from oil and gas drilling operations, natural gas flaring itself and agriculture. Methane doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, but it traps 80 times more heat, on average, in the 20 years after it’s emitted. The new methane cuts could be reduced elsewhere. A series of new natural gas projects in the US approved by the federal government could cause a 500% increase in methane emissions in the decade to 2030 if all planned developments go ahead, according to Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics. “So while it’s great to clean up methane leaks from the oil and gas industry, let’s be clear — the U.S. is increasing its natural gas production at a time when it should be figuring out how to reduce it,” Hare said. he said. The newly strengthened standards will help reduce methane emissions by 87 percent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, through new regulations to curb gas flaring and methane leaks from oil and gas drilling and pumping. A new program will require oil and gas companies to respond to third-party reports of methane leaks. Environmental groups have called on Biden, who still faces the possibility of Republican control of Congress after the midterm elections, to more aggressively exercise the presidency’s unilateral power to divest from fossil fuel use. “The new methane reduction plan is welcome and long overdue, but President Biden needs to offer much more in these negotiations,” said Jean Sue, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s energy justice program. “It’s time for Biden to declare a climate emergency and stop approving new fossil fuel projects that will release more methane into the atmosphere, even by these standards.” It turned out to be a mixed Cop27 for the US in Sharm el-Sheikh. The US delegation was eager to support the passage of the reputation-boosting Deflation Act, a sweeping package of support for clean energy and the first major climate bill ever passed by the US. John Kerry, the US climate envoy, called the law “transformative” and “one of the most important pieces of legislation in the last 50 years.” But critics have pointed out that the US has yet to provide nearly the level of climate finance that befits its role as the world’s economic superpower and the largest source of carbon pollution in history. Even the $11 billion already pledged by the US to support developing countries hit by climate storms, wildfires and drought, which Kerry admitted is not enough, is uncertain given the likely makeup of Congress . The issue of “loss and damage” – funds for repair and reconstruction paid by rich countries to poorer nations suffering inevitable disasters due to the climate crisis – was on the Cop27 agenda, but US officials said they were discussing any kind of financing mechanism that might take another two years. “We have a responsibility, we’re committed,” Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, said of developing countries on a visit to Cop27. But, he added, “it’s a challenge, and we haven’t done it yet, to get the global funding we need to be good neighbors on this planet.” Alice Hill, a former climate adviser to Barack Obama, said: “President Biden wants to maintain the 1.5C target by insisting that every emitting nation does its part. He announced a series of new climate programs but failed to deliver what the developing world wants most – enough money to adapt to climate extremes. It will take Congress working together to make it happen.” Activists from around the world at Cop27 said the U.S. needed to do much more, but U.S. global warming emissions are expected to rise about 1.5 percent this year, due to increased natural gas use and a rebound in air travel after the depths of the Covid pandemic. “The US is the biggest polluter and has the financial and technological means to solve the climate crisis, but has failed time and again to deliver on its commitments,” said Mohamed Andou, director of the Power Shift Africa think tank. “We are paying for the crimes of corporations and the global North, which have made Pakistan a hub for climate disasters,” said Farooq Tariq, a veteran climate activist from Pakistan. More than a third of his country has been inundated by floods since June, displacing more than 30 million people, and scientists said global warming was likely exacerbating the disaster. “We don’t want other words, we want debt relief, we want reparations, we want climate justice,” Tariq said.
