Biden on the climate: “Time is short, but I believe we can do it”

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Soon, more than 190 nations will address climate crisis solutions at the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

From November 6 through 18, at least 35,000 people are scheduled to attend public and private sector talks to advance efforts to implement climate solutions to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and enhance adaptations to climate impacts.

“Under President Biden, U.S. leadership has been and continues to be essential to combating the climate crisis,” the State Department said in a statement, “and we are mobilizing a whole-of-government approach to scale up action at home and abroad to put the world on a path to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.”

The promise of ambition and innovation
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi outlined priority topics in a statement from the country’s COP27 website:

“Among key focus areas will be the promise of innovation and clean technologies as well as the centrality of water and agriculture to the climate crisis. The role of science will also be highlighted in addition to biodiversity loss, energy transition, decarbonization efforts and finance.”

The president says the leadership of youth, women, civil society and indigenous people will be at the center of COP27 discussions.

Hand holding cellphone with COP27 logo, in front of large COP27 logo in background (© Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)
COP27 will take place November 6–18 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. (© Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)
The United States looks forward to working with Egypt to build on the momentum of COP26, the State Department said.

The United States will also continue to work with the 190+ parties to the Paris Agreement to raise climate ambition and advance global cooperation on:

Emissions reductions.
Climate adaptation.
Climate finance.
Technology development.
Loss and damage due to climate disasters, and more.

To keep the goal alive of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the United States will engage in multilateral negotiations as well as public events and bilateral discussions to help partner countries around the world set and achieve ambitious emission reduction targets and enhance their resilience to climate change, the State Department said.

“This is a moral imperative, an economic imperative, a moment of peril but also a moment of extraordinary possibilities,” said President Biden at the Virtual Leaders Summit on Climate. “Time is short, but I believe we can do this. And I believe that we will do this.”