Cop27 live updates: Joe Biden warns climate crisis existential threat to planet
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
US president Joe Biden has told world leaders the global climate crisis poses an existential threat to the planet and promised that the United States was doing its part to combat it.
The emergency is about human security and economic security, he said in an address to the Cop27 climate talks in Egypt, as he highlighted historic drought, wild fires, devastating storms, food insecurity and flooding, leaving people homeless.
And he pledged the US would meet its emissions targets by 2030.
His speech was intended to remind government representatives gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh to keep alive a goal of keeping the global average temperature rise within 1.5 Celsius to avert the worst impacts of planetary warming.
The president was briefly heckled by protesters during a pause in his speech.
He also announced a stepping-up of plans to help African nations adapt to the climate emergency.
His administration is ramping up efforts to cut methane emissions, targeting the oil and gas industry.
But scientists said that global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels were on track to rise around 1 per cent this year, warning this would make it harder for the world to avoid disastrous levels of climate change.
Cop27: Key points
Climate crisis is existential threat to the planet, Biden says
US president apologises for Paris deal exit under Trump
US doubles pledge to adaptation fund
Biden heckled during speech by protesters
Doctors from around globe stage climate talks protest
Halting destruction of ancient forests is key, writes Boris Johnson
Watch: Doctors protest at climate summit
16:31 , Jane Dalton
US backs ‘global shield’ for poorer countries
16:09 , Jane Dalton
The US supports a global shield initiative, Joe Biden announced.
The insurance initiative would help communities in poor and vulnerable countries recover more quickly from climate disasters.
Critics say the initiative is rich countries’ latest attempt to avoid paying for climate damage by keeping the burden on individuals in poorer countries through insurance premiums.
The US is enhancing its support for regional risk insurance pools, including contributing $12m to the Africa Disaster Risk Financing Program.
Biden heckled during speech by protesters
16:01 , Sam Rkaina
President Biden was heckled towards the end of his climate speech.
A small group of protesters holding a banner were heard to make noise when he declared the US a ‘world leader’.
They were quickly escorted out of the hall and he continued to his address.
Watch: Biden heckled by protesters during speech
16:01 , Jane Dalton
We’re working for planet for our children, says president
15:59 , Jane Dalton
Young people would not allow world leaders to fail on the climate, Joe Biden said.
“Let’s reach out and take the future in our hands. A planet preserved, a more equitable, prosperous world for our children, that is why we are here, that is what we are working towards,” he told the summit.
“I’m confident we can do it. Thank you, and may God bless you all.”
US doubles pledge to adaptation fund
15:55 , Jane Dalton
The US president announced his country was doubling its pledge to the adaptation fund, helping poorer nations adapt.
Mr Biden told delegates at the climate talks that his commitment on climate had been unwavering and his administration was “putting money where its mouth is on climate accountability”.
He added that good climate policy was good economic policy.
“I can stand here as president of the United States of America and say with confidence, the United States of America will meet our emissions targets by 2030.”
His speech was intended to remind government representatives to keep alive a goal of keeping the global average temperature rise within 1.5 degrees Celsius to avert the worst impacts of planetary warming. It came even as a slew of crises - from a land war in Europe to rampant inflation - distract international focus.
“Against this backdrop, it’s more urgent than ever that we double down on our climate commitments. Russia’s war only enhances the urgency of the need to transition the world off its dependence on fossil fuels,” he said.
Climate crisis is ‘existential threat to the planet’ Biden says
15:52 , Sam Rkaina
Mr Biden told Cop27 the global climate crisis posed an existential threat to the planet.
“The climate crisis is about human security, economic security, environmental security, national security, and the very life of the planet,” the US president said.
He assured delegates the United States was meeting the challenge with urgency.
Joe Biden tells summit US will meet emissions target by 2030
15:50 , Jane Dalton
Joe Biden told the summit that that the US would meet its emissions target by 2030 to do the country’s part in averting the “climate hell” the UN secretary-general warned of earlier this week:
Joe Biden tells Cop27 climate summit ‘US will meet emissions target by 2030’
Biden apologises for US exiting Paris deal under Donald Trump
15:47 , Jane Dalton
US president Joe Biden has apologised to the Cop27 climate talks for the country having temporarily exited the Paris Agreement before he came to office.
Mr Biden warned delegates at the climate conference that the global climate crisis poses an existential threat to the planet.
“The climate crisis is about human security, economic security, environmental security, national security, and the very life of the planet,” he said.
He assured delegates the United States was meeting the challenge with urgency, before protesters briefly shouted as he paused.
His speech was intended to remind government representatives gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh to keep alive a goal to avert the worst impacts of planetary warming.
African oil pipeline sparks protests
14:43 , Jane Dalton
East Africans demonstrated against a pipeline being built to take oil from a national park in Uganda more than 870 miles to a port in Tanzania for export.
The project will produce vast amounts of carbon dioxide, analysis has shown - more than 25 times the combined annual emissions of Uganda and Tanzania.
Biden and Egyptian leader hold talks
14:34 , Jane Dalton
US president Joe Biden has arrived in Egypt with a giant domestic investment in tow — and he’s likely to face questions about how far the US will go to pull other large greenhouse gas emitters along.
His attendance at the UN climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh is the first stop on an around-the-world trip that will also take him to a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders in Cambodia and a Group of 20 summit meeting for leaders of the world’s largest economies in Bali, Indonesia.
He praised Egypt for speaking up strongly on the war in Ukraine as he met Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Boris Johnson: Halting destruction of ancient forests is key
13:36 , Jane Dalton
“Destroying the world’s tropical forests is literally criminal: illegal crops, illegal mining, illegal cattle ranching and illegal palm oil plantations.”
It is time to review our legislation so that these crimes face proper sanctions, write Boris Johnson and Iván Duque for The Independent:
This could be the answer to the climate crisis | Boris Johnson and Iván Duque
Nancy Pelosi mobbed by photographers
13:22 , Jane Dalton
In case you missed it: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was mobbed by crowds at the Cop27 global climate summit on Thursday despite being surrounded by heavy security in Sharm el-Sheikh. The trip is her first major overseas visit since the hammer attack on her husband Paul Pelosi at the couple’s home in San Francisco:
Nancy Pelosi slams Elon Musk over conspiracy tweet about her husband
‘We don’t want to be refugees’: Antigua PM calls for US payouts
12:51 , Jane Dalton
Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister has accused the United States of “subterfuge” in its approach to climate compensation for vulnerable countries.
“We don’t want to be climate refugees in anybody’s country. We want to maintain our civilisations that have existed for hundreds of years,” Gaston Browne, chair of the Alliance of Small Island States said. Exclusive by Louise Boyle:
Antigua & Barbuda PM calls on US to pay climate compensation
Doctors lie on ground at climate talks protest
12:41 , Jane Dalton
Hundreds of activists have protested at the Cop27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, calling for “climate justice” and finance for vulnerable countries.
They included groups of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, scientists and medical students from around the world, who aimed to highlight how the climate crisis is killing people.
One doctor “performed CPR” on an inflatable globe as others made speeches, then “collapsed” on the floor of a conference centre.
The activists included people from China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Uganda, Switzerland, Poland, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, America and the Netherlands, as well as the UK.
12:29 , Jane Dalton
Joe Biden is preparing to address world leaders at the key Cop27 climate negotiations, where he will attempt to showcase US leadership on climate issues.
Among announcements likely timed for his arrival, the United States and the European Union plan to make a joint announcement pledging to crack down on methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.
Washington and Brussels already have proposals to do this, but the declaration is meant to encourage other countries to do the same, building on the Global Methane Pledge to slash methane emissions by 30 per cent this decade.
However, President Biden has pressed energy producers for more oil drilling to lower petrol prices for consumers following Russia’s war on Ukraine.Mr Biden is set to announce a rule cracking down on emissions of methane — a greenhouse gas that contributes even more to global warming than carbon dioxide — at the summit.
