2021 Leaders Summit on Climate


The 2021 Leaders' Summit on Climate was a virtual climate summit 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 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% more in comparison to the pledges before the summit. The results of the summit were described by Climate Action Tracker as a step forward in the fight against climate change.

Invited countries and their representatives

Invited countriesRepresentative
President Cyril Ramaphosa
Chancellor Angela Merkel
Prime Minister Gaston Browne
King Salman of Saudi Arabia
President Alberto Fernández
Prime Minister Scott Morrison
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
President Jair Bolsonaro
Prime Minister Lotay Tshering
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
President Sebastián Piñera
President Xi Jinping
President Iván Duque Márquez
President Moon Jae-in
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen
President Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez
President Emmanuel Macron
President Ali Bongo Ondimba
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
President Joko Widodo
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister Mario Draghi
Prime Minister Andrew Holness
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador
President Muhammadu Buhari
Prime Minister Erna Solberg
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
President Andrzej Duda
President Uhuru Kenyatta
Prime Minister Boris Johnson
President David Kabua
President Félix Tshisekedi
President Vladimir Putin
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng

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 Climate Action Tracker 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, United Kingdom, European Union, China and Japan. At the summit the Biden administration submitted a new Nationally Determined Contribution 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, Norway, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, 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:
CountryCommitments/Statements
Pledged to reduce its emissions by 50% - 52% by 2030 relative to the level of 2005.
Pledged to end deforestation by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Presented an action plan to "move quickly towards reversing deforestation," in 12 months if necessary resources will be given
Pledged to reduce emissions by 46% by 2030 compared to the level of 2013 and achieve net - zero emissions by 2050.
Pledged to reduce emissions by 40% - 45% by 2030 relative to the level of 2005.
Reaffirmed its previous target of installing 450 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030. With the United States created an "India-U.S. Climate and Clean Energy Agenda Partnership for 2030".
Pledged to reduce significantly its emissions in the next 3 decades, called for a global reduction in methane emissions.
Reaffirmed its pledges to peak its emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060. Agreed to cooperate with the US in climate issues. Pledged to strictly control its coal burning by 2025 and reduce it from 2026.
Pledged to stop financing coal related projects abroad.
Pledged to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035
European Union

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.