The 2021 Leaders' Summit on Climate was a virtual climate

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

on April 22–23, 2021, organized by the Joe Biden administration, with leaders from various countries. At the summit Biden announced that

greenhouse gas emissions by the United States The United States produced 5.2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2020, the second largest in the world after greenhouse gas emissions by China and among the countries with the highest greenho ...

would be reduced by 50% - 52% relative to the level of 2005 by 2030. Overall, the commitments made at the summit reduce the gap between governments' current pledges and the 1.5 degrees target of the

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, Climate change a ...

by 12% - 14%. If the pledges are accomplished,

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...

will fall by 2.6% - 3.7% more in comparison to the pledges before the summit. The results of the summit were described by

Climate Action Tracker Climate Action Tracker (abbreviated CAT) is a research group with the aim of monitoring government action to achieve their reduction of greenhouse gas emissions with regard to international agreements. It is tracking climate action in 32 countries ...

as a step forward in the fight against climate change.

Invited countries and their representatives

President Joe Biden at the Leaders Summit on Climate (02)

Results

At the summit Biden announced that greenhouse gas emissions by the United States would be reduced by 50% - 52% relative to the level of 2005 by 2030. Overall, the commitments made at the summit reduce the gap between governments' current pledges and the 1.5 degrees target of the Paris Agreement by 12% - 14%. If the pledges are accomplished, greenhouse gas emissions will fall by 2.6% - 3.7% GtCO2e more in comparison to the pledges before the summit. The results of the summit were described by

as a step forward in the fight against climate change, even though there is still a long way to go to reach the 1.5 degrees target. The most important commitments were made by

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. At the summit the Biden administration submitted a new

Nationally Determined Contribution A nationally determined contribution (NDC) or intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) is a non-binding national plan highlighting climate change mitigation, including climate-related targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions. These ...

to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), according to Climate Action Tracker "the biggest climate step made by any US government in history". At the summit Biden's administration launched a number of coalitions and initiatives to limit climate change and help to reduce its impacts, among others a Global Climate Ambition Initiative to help low income countries achieve those targets, and a "Net-Zero Producers Forum, with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, together representing 40% of global oil and gas production" Several countries increased their climate pledges in the summit. Several countries deliver vague promises, and statements: In the beginning of May, 2021,

released a more detailed report about the significance of the summit. According to the report the summit, together with the pledges made from September 2020, reduce the expected rise in temperature by 2100 by 0.2 degrees. If all pledges are fulfilled the temperature will rise by 2.4 °C. However, if the policies will remain as they are now it will rise by 2.9 °C. In the most optimistic scenario, if the countries will fulfill also the pledges that are not part of Paris agreement it will rise by 2.0 °C.

Use of masks

After the summit, there were claims spread that Joe Biden was the only leader there wearing a mask, which was later proved was wrong as at least 5 other world leaders were wearing masks.

Notes

References

External links

* whitehouse.gov: *
''President Biden Invites 40 World Leaders to Leaders Summit on Climate''
(March 26) *
''Leaders Summit on Climate Summary of Proceedings''
(April 23) *
''Remarks by President Biden at the Virtual Leaders Summit on Climate Opening Session''
(April 22) *
''Remarks by President Biden at the Virtual Leaders Summit on Climate Session 2: Investing in Climate Solutions''
{{Biden presidency International conferences in the United States 2021 in international relations 2021 in American politics 2021 conferences 2021 in the United States April 2021 events in the United States Presidency of Joe Biden Politics of climate change Emissions reduction