Biden Urges World Leaders to Keep Focus on Climate

President Joe Biden participated in a discussion on climate and clean energy on the second and final day of the G20 summit in Brazil, urging world leaders to continue efforts on climate issues.

“We have so much more to do,” Biden said during the meeting, referring to the adoption of energy sources such as solar and wind.

He reiterated his support of climate change initiatives.

“History is watching us,” he said. “I urge us to keep the faith and keep going. This is the single greatest existential threat to humanity.”

Biden attended the final G20 summit of his presidency, held Nov. 18–19 in Rio de Janeiro.

The annual meeting brought together the leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies to discuss challenges facing the world, which this year focused on social inclusion, global governance reform, and energy transition.

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11/19/2024

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Biden highlighted the progress the United States has made in addressing climate issues and investing in energy transitions over the past four years. However, uncertainty about how President-elect Donald Trump might reverse these efforts loomed large over the climate meeting.

Toward the end of his remarks, Biden said, “I have much more to say,” then added, “I’m not going to.”

During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump pledged to claw back billions of dollars in funding allocated to the Biden administration’s climate and energy agenda.

To increase U.S. energy production and reduce inflation, he also promised to increase oil drilling on public lands and offer tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal producers.

In addition, he promised to once again withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement and reverse Biden’s incentives and regulations that heavily favor electric vehicles.

‘IRA Playbook’

On the first day of the summit on Nov. 18, Biden announced a $4 billion pledge over the next three years to the World Bank’s International Development Association aimed at bolstering support for the world’s poorest countries.

Biden made the announcement during a closed session at the summit, urging other countries to boost their pledges.

During his remarks at the climate meeting, Biden told world leaders that developing countries need to have “enough firepower and access to capital” to tackle climate change and protect their economies from its effects.

“We need to continue to give breathing space to countries that are weighed down by debt,” he said. “We as leaders need to find ways to flow money into their economies.”

A senior administration official told reporters during a call on Nov. 19 that the president has not only taken on the task of creating an “IRA playbook” domestically but is also encouraging other countries to create their own version of the IRA.

Over the past few years, countries including India and Brazil have successfully implemented similar policies, the official said.

To champion his climate policies, Biden visited Brazil’s Amazon rainforest on Nov. 17, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to visit the region.

While there, he met with indigenous leaders and signed a proclamation designating Nov. 17 as International Conservation Day.

He announced that the United States ramped up international climate finance to more than $11 billion per year, becoming the largest bilateral provider of climate funding globally.

Before heading back to Washington, Biden also held a bilateral meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Nov. 19.

The two leaders announced a new Brazil–U.S. Partnership for the Energy Transition, the White House said.

“The partnership will accelerate clean energy deployment, expand energy and mineral supply chain development, and decarbonize the manufacturing and industrial sectors.”