The UN Secretary General warmly welcomed the announcement of the executive order signed by the new president of the United States, Joe Biden, with the aim of reincorporating the country to the Paris Agreement and joining the growing coalition of governments, cities , States, companies and individuals who are taking ambitious actions to confront the climate crisis.
In a statement, António Guterres said that, after the Climate Ambition Summit last year, the countries responsible for producing half of the world's carbon committed to achieving neutrality of their emissions in the coming decades. With President Biden's expressed intention, two-thirds of carbon emissions would be covered.
Still, he said, there is a long way to go as the climate crisis continues to get worse and time is running out to limit the temperature rise to 1,5 degrees Celsius and building more climate-resilient societies that help protect the most vulnerable.
“We look forward to the leadership of the United States in accelerating global efforts towards net zero emissions, including the presentation of a new Nationally Determined Contribution * with ambitious targets for 2030 and provided with the necessary funding before COP26 in Glasgow to end of this year, "he said.
US President Joe Biden in a file image, presiding over a Security Council meeting when he was vice president
Guterres said he is committed to working closely with President Biden and other leaders to overcome the climate emergency and for the world to recover from the COVID-19 crisis in a more sustainable way.
Following the signing of the executive order, Biden will send a letter to the United Nations expressing the intention to rejoin the Paris Agreement, the first step of the protocol to regain membership, which will take 30 days to be formalized.
In 2017, the previous US administration called for the country to be removed from the Agreement signed by 194 nations in 2015, which aims to keep this century's global temperature rise well below 2 ° C above levels. pre-industrial, and make efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1,5 ° C. The decision of the Government of the North American country to withdraw, due to the established regulations, was formally materialized in November 2020.
A rainbow forms on a sunny horizon.
Return to the World Health Organization
The Secretary General also welcomed Biden's executive order preventing the United States from leaving the World Health Organization, a process also initiated by his predecessor.
“Supporting the WHO is absolutely critical to the world's efforts for a better coordinated response to COVID-19. Now is the time for unity and for the international community to work together in solidarity to stop this virus and its devastating consequences, "he said in another statement sent by his spokesman.
He added that since vaccines are a critical tool in the battle against COVID-19, joining the United States and supporting the installation of COVAX will boost efforts to ensure equitable access to vaccines for all countries.
working together
The UN spokesman assured reporters on Wednesday that the United States has a key leadership role to play on the international agenda, including the Security Council.
“We also look forward to working with the administration to promote sustainable development and human rights for all the people of the world,” Stéphane Dujarric reported.
Dujarric assured that Guterres will send a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris expressing those wishes.