Mr Biden, who rejoined the accord within hours of taking office, told the COP27 climate conference in Egypt that his administration was “putting our money where our mouth is”. The president’s speech was briefly interrupted by a group of fossil fuel protesters, who were quickly cleared from the venue in Sharm El Sheikh. Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement, under which leaders pledged to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. President Biden arrived buoyed by the midterm election results, which are set to be the best for a president’s party in nearly two decades. The surprise result follows a major $370 billion climate bill passed by Congress in August in the face of fierce Republican opposition. Biden said the spending, part of broader economic legislation he signed this year, would “change the paradigm” and ensure the US meets its goal of reducing emissions by 2030. Earlier he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al- -Sisi, where he raised the issue of human rights under the authoritarian regime. Egypt’s presidency has been tainted by outrage over the jailing of political prisoners, famed British-Egyptian writer Alaa Abd El-Fattah Alaa, and problems at the conference venue, where food, water and internet were hard to come by and raw sewage leaked on Wednesday. The White House will hope that Biden’s speech, as well as smaller announcements and appearances by senior Democrats such as Nancy Pelosi, will position the US as a climate leader – particularly after years of hiatus under Trump. But it’s still the world’s largest oil producer and record polluter—and the average American emits far more carbon dioxide than the citizens of any other major economy. It is also one of several countries lagging behind on emissions reductions as promised and coughing up long-term cash to fund climate action in developing countries. Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, a think tank, said: “I’d rather have an apple in my hand than promise five that never come… We need immediate funding that goes directly to communities and countries.” Antony Froggatt from the think tank Chatham House said that “internationally the US still has a long way to go to repair its reputation on climate change, and international funding will be particularly important.” Disgruntled activists gathered outside the convention zone where Mr Biden spoke, waving blue banners and chanting “pay for the loss and damage” – referring to calls from vulnerable countries for compensation for brutal climate impacts they did not cause. They and other countries will judge US leadership in part on its willingness to address and phase out fossil fuels. So far in the talks, “the US and other major economies are essentially allowing it [conversation] to go on, nodding a lot, but not really saying much,” according to Collin Rees, US program director at Oil Change international, who has been monitoring discussions. “There’s a lot of concern that when we get to the second week and really get down to the nitty-gritty of the negotiations, then they might play their cards and say ‘absolutely not’,” he told Sky News. Watch the Daily Climate Show at 3.30pm Monday to Friday and The Climate Show with Tom Heap on Saturday and Sunday at 3.30pm and 7.30pm. All on Sky News, the Sky News website and app, YouTube and Twitter. The show explores how global warming is changing our landscape and highlights solutions to the crisis.
