President Joe Biden apologized to world leaders at the 26th United Nations climate summit for former President Donald Trump’s dramatic exit from the environmental agreement they negotiated five years earlier in Paris.
“I guess I shouldn’t apologize, but I do apologize for the fact that the United States — the last administration — pulled out of the Paris Accords and put us sort of behind the eight ball,” Biden said Monday during a session on “action and solidarity.”
BIDEN TROUBLES AT HOME FOLLOW HIM ABROAD
Earlier during the opening session, Biden described the climate as “the challenge of our collective lifetimes.” He touted his proposal to invest in clean energy through his $1.75 trillion social welfare and climate spending package, a bill congressional Democrats are currently squabbling over.
“Because we are taking all these actions, the United States will be able to meet [the] ambitious target I set at the leaders’ summit [on] climate back in April,” he said. “Reducing U.S. emissions by 50 to 52% below 2005 levels by 2030 will demonstrate to the world the United States is not only back at the table, but hopefully leading by the power of our example. I know it hasn’t been the case.”
Biden reaffirmed U.S. commitment to the Paris climate framework on his first day in office. But Biden’s domestic environmental action has been stymied by his colleagues on Capitol Hill as liberal lawmakers seek to include more money spent as part of his partisan social spending and climate package.
Biden’s remarks at the climate summit, hosted this year by the United Kingdom, launched his two days of participation in the two-week conference.
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Biden’s schedule includes sideline meetings with Prime Ministers Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom and Kaja Kallas of Estonia, as well as Indonesian President Joko Widodo. He is also slated to hold a press conference on Tuesday before returning to the White House later that night.
