America Spreads Hope – Biden: Climate change has great economic opportunities

US President Joe Biden also sees great economic opportunities in the fight against the coming climate disaster. The fight against global warming offers the opportunity to create millions of well-paying jobs – for example, through the expansion of electricity or renewable energy.

At a two-day online climate summit he held with dozens of heads of state and heads of state, Biden said on Friday that the United States wants to regain a leading role in climate protection. (Also read our comment: Do not be fooled!)

He called for international cooperation and openly praised the signals of cooperation by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who brought to the table at the Biden summit in view of the dramatic climate crisis. On Thursday, despite numerous political conflicts between Russia and the West, Putin described climate protection as an integral part and warned that the entire international community should coordinate its efforts. Russia is ready to offer a “full series” of joint climate protection programs. Biden called Putin’s message “encouraging” on Friday, and said the United States was looking forward to working with Moscow on the issue.

Earlier in the day, Biden announced a new climate goal for the US government: the United States wants to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by at least half a decade compared to 2005. With the new goal, they are fulfilling a requirement of the Paris Climate Agreement, in which Biden was deported on the first day of office. His predecessor Donald Trump abandoned the deal. This provides that contract states improve their climate targets every five years. All partners are set to officially do this at the World Climate Conference in Glasgow in November.

Also read: Joe Biden pays little for climate change

The summit hosted by Biden is considered an important preparation for Glasgow. The US president insisted on a stop on the way there: “This summit is just the beginning.”

Experts agree that there is much more to be done around the world by 2030 if global warming is to stay below two degrees, as nearly 200 countries in Paris agreed in 2015. The Earth is already 1.2 degrees warmer compared to pre-industrial times. On the first day of the online climate summit, participants stressed the existential threat posed by the climate crisis and the already visible catastrophic consequences: depending on the region, there are high heat waves and droughts and heavy rains, storms, hurricanes and floods. They mainly used the second day to underline the opportunities provided by the fight against the crisis.

U.S. Climate Commissioner John Kerry stressed: “No one was asked to make the sacrifice.” On the contrary, concrete action against climate change provides an opportunity to improve areas such as health, the economy, the labor market and security.

Government leaders in many countries are demonstrating how to deal with climate change and at the same time reaping economic benefits. For example, Danish Prime Minister Matteo Frederickson reported on an energy island to store sea wind energy that will be built 80 kilometers off the coast of Jutland. This is the largest construction project in Danish history. Frederickson said 50 percent of Danish electricity already came from wind power and needed to be expanded. The next task is to convert green energy into green fuel to reduce emissions from trucks, planes and ships. These discoveries created a lot of new jobs. Denmark has set a goal of reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. It is currently the most ambitious emission target of all EU countries.

The United Arab Emirates is one of the largest oil exporters in the world, said Emirati Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. However, 15 years ago you made the strategic decision to invest in renewable energy and now operate two of the world’s largest solar systems. One-third should follow. Emirates is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of revenue from the oil and gas business. Despite the huge resources, the Sunny country is trying to meet domestic energy needs in other ways.

Biden is currently seeking to make major investments in the country’s infrastructure, electromotivity expansion and energy conversion. He always insists that millions of jobs can be created in this way. The US president plans to spend about $ 2 trillion on his infrastructure plan over the next eight years. This equates to about 10 percent of the annual economic output of the United States. Domestically, at great expense, the program has met with some opposition from Republicans. Biden also used the Climate Summit to promote his proposed project.

SDA / oli

Posted tonight at 9:01 p.m.

Got it wrong?Report now.