EARTH DAY SUMMIT on Climate Change to be Live-Streamed

Biden’s climate summit: The list of who’s going (and who has yet to RSVP)

From an Article in the Independent News of Great Britain, April 16, 2021

President Joe Biden has asked 40 world leaders to a virtual two-day summit to ramp up efforts in tackling the climate emergency, beginning on Earth Day.

Invitations have gone out to leaders of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, which total about 80 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Nations on the frontlines of the climate crisis, already facing more extreme weather and rising sea levels, have also been invited along with a number of nations championing climate action.

The list includes Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, a signal that the US is willing to put the climate crisis above even its most strained international relations. President Xi is expected to attend, according to a report, while Mr Putin remains a question mark.

For its part, the US is expected to announce a tougher 2030 emissions-reduction target ahead of the summit. The “nationally determined contribution” (NDC), as it’s known, is each nation’s short-term pledge on emissions and a required part of the Paris Agreement.

The New York Times reported this week that ahead of the summit, the Biden administration was close to clinching tougher emissions reduction promises from Japan, South Korea and Canada. But deals had not yet been reached with China, India and Brazil who, along with the US, account for more than half of global emissions.

Some global leaders have publicly confirmed they will attend Mr Biden’s summit, seen as a key milestone ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, in Glasgow this November.

Among those who have confirmed their attendance: Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Antigua and Barbuda; President Alberto Fernandez, Argentina; Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh; President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil; President Sebastián Piñera, Chile; President Xi Jinping, China; President Iván Duque Márquez, Colombia; President Félix Tshisekedi, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Denmark; President Ali Bongo Ondimba, Gabon; Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India; President David Kabua, Republic of the Marshall Islands; President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico; Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Norway; President Andrzej Duda, Poland; President Moon Jae-in, Republic of Korea; Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore; Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain; Prime Minister Boris Johnson, United Kingdom.

Also on the list but yet to publicly confirm are: Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Australia; Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, Bhutan; Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada; President Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission; President Charles Michel, European Council; President Emmanuel Macron, France; Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany; President Joko Widodo, Indonesia; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel; Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Italy; Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Jamaica; Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Japan; President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya; Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand; President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria; President Vladimir Putin, Russia; King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa; President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey; President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, United Arab Emirates; President Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Vietnam

>>>>>>>>……………………>>>>>>>>……………………>>>>>>>>

See also: Biden’s Earth Day Summit Is a Crucial Opportunity for Climate Action, Rachel Cleetus & Erika Spanger-Siegfried, Scientific American, April 14, 2021

The president should commit to cutting U.S. emissions at least 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

Tagged as: 40 nations, carbon dioxide, Earth Day, emission reductions, Joe Biden, live stream, summit, Yes