More than 40 countries took part in the American Earth Day summit, including China, Russia, India and Brazil. Some statements caused a stir.
Last updated 23 April
On 22 April, on the occasion of Earth Day, the United States organised a global summit aimed at raising public awareness of environmental issues and pressing governments to make concrete commitments to contain the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.
The event – which took place entirely virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic – was attended by more than forty countries, including China, India, Russia and Brazil.
The Earth Day 2021 summit was opened by United States president Joe Biden and his vice president Kamala Harris, who spoke from the White House. Biden stated that America is today "ready to take action" against climate change, a clear change of course from the passive and denialist stance maintained by the Trump administration over the previous four years. The new president now aims to halve CO2 emissions over the next ten years – that is, by 2030 – relative to 2005 levels, and to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
Biden also called on other world leaders to strengthen measures to combat global warming. "No one can solve this problem alone," he said, adding that "the countries that take action now will be the ones that can most benefit from the enormous growth the renewable energy sector is heading towards."
A few days earlier, on 20 April, Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Edward Markey had put forward an informal proposal for the "Green New Deal", a wide-ranging package of measures aimed at bringing American net emissions to zero through the creation of new jobs in the renewable energy sector and the gradual abandonment of fossil fuels. During the Trump administration, an earlier version of the deal had been blocked by the Republican-majority Senate.
Currently, the United States produces around 15 per cent of global emissions, while China remains at the top of the rankings with 28 per cent. Chinese president Xi Jinping addressed the summit shortly after his American counterpart, reinforcing commitments made previously without putting forward any new proposals. Xi recalled that China intends to reach peak emissions by 2030, and then achieve neutrality by 2060. To that end, the use of coal will be phased out from 2025.
Indian president Narendra Modi struck a similar note, making no new pledges but reiterating the commitment to install new facilities capable of generating 450 gigawatts of energy from renewable sources by 2030. India is currently responsible for around 7 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions, placing third in the rankings after the United States and China.
Russian president Vladimir Putin also attended the conference virtually, despite the growing tensions between Moscow and Washington. On 15 April, the United States had imposed new sanctions on Russia in response, among other things, to cyberattacks carried out by Kremlin intelligence against American companies. Moreover, in March, Biden had called Putin a "killer" during an interview.
"Climate is an area of interest for Russia and we don't want to be left out of the conversation," said the Russian president, speaking at the Earth Day 2021 summit, thus demonstrating a willingness to cooperate, at least as far as measures to combat climate change are concerned. In his address to the nation on 21 April, Putin had promised to bring Russia's greenhouse gas emissions below European levels over the next thirty years.
In his address to the summit organised on the occasion of Earth Day, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro committed to ending unauthorised deforestation by 2030, a move that would halve the country's emissions. According to the New York Times, however, the announcement was met with extreme scepticism from local communities and organisations working on the ground: throughout his term in office, Bolsonaro has consistently cut the budget for conservation initiatives and loosened environmental protection regulations.
Between August 2019 and July 2020, more than 11,000 square kilometres of Amazon rainforest were destroyed in Brazil, an increase of 9.5 per cent compared to the previous year.
Speaking at the summit, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo highlighted the fundamental role that major cities can play in the fight against global warming. "The climate crisis compels us to change radically. But change what? Practically everything: this is a revolution, a peaceful one, whose epicentre is in cities."
According to Hidalgo, "setting targets is no longer enough — we need to establish clear pathways to reach them." At the upcoming Cop 26 in Glasgow, for example, 700 cities around the world will commit to zeroing their net emissions by 2050: "Unity is strength," the mayor said.
Hidalgo has consistently championed measures that respect the environment and tackle climate change: last March she announced that by the end of the year cars would be permitted to travel throughout Paris at a maximum speed of 30 km/h, while the grand Avenue des Champs-Élysées, linking Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe, will become an "extraordinary garden" from 2024, when the city will host the Olympic Games.
Activist Greta Thunberg did not attend the Earth Day summit, but on 22 April she was nonetheless invited to a session of the US Congress to discuss the environmental impact of fossil fuels.
"I have nothing to offer you, I am not a scientist. But I urge you to listen to the science and use your common sense," said Thunberg. "It is 2021, and the fact that we are still funding the fossil fuel industry is a disgrace."
Thunberg also sharply criticised older generations for not doing enough to genuinely combat the climate crisis, stating: "Unlike you, my generation will not give up without a fight […]. How long do you think you can keep ignoring the climate crisis without being held accountable? Sooner or later the public will realise what you are doing."
