Earth Day & the Leaders Summit on Climate

 

Happy Earth Day to all of you, the 51st since its inception in 1970. Actually Earth Day began a year earlier with a former Pentecostal pastor, but that's another story.

Today there will be a virtual international conference called the Leaders Summit on Climate Summit,  hosted by the United States and stretching through tomorrow. After four disastrous years of environmental regression under President Voldemort the Biden administration is taking immediate steps to reclaim global leadership when it comes to the climate emergency. This is an encouraging development, to say the least, after the United States had withdrawn from the Paris Accord and weakened environmental laws under Whatshisname. 

The United States has already committed to doubling it's greenhouse emission reduction target and other countries, including Canada and  European Union nations,  have increased their efforts. 

Summit Objectives

Biden has urged the other leaders to use this summit as an opportunity to release their countries climate ambition and how they will take action to reduce emissions. The US is also expected to announce its ambitious 2030 emissions target as its new Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement.

The main objectives of this summit are:

- Get the world's major economies to reduce emission in this decade while also getting the public and private sector involvement.
- Show how climate action can have economic and social benefits. Build new businesses and industries.
- Using the technology available to adapt to climate change but also reduce emissions. Use nature-based solutions to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
- Protect lives and livelihoods by finding ways to adapt to climate change.

The US also wants to "reconvene the US-led Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate" that was started by former President Barack Obama in March 2009. It is a forum that gets together the 17 major economies that are responsible for approximately 80 percent of global emissions as well as global GDP.

We can pray for the outcome of these two days. knowing that they signal the concerted global commitment necessary for addressing climate change. That the United States wants to lead this effort is very encouraging. If we do believe that "the Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof" we will pay attention what happens today, tomorrow, and in the days ahead.