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President Joe Biden arrived at the United Nations COP27 climate change conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Friday with wind in his sails. In August, he signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the most significant climate law in U.S. history, and the relative success of Democrats in the midterm elections offered conference delegates a glimmer of hope that his climate agenda may live to see another day. He came with fresh announcements, too: a doubling of U.S. support for a program focused on countries’ adaptation efforts, and a tightened regulation to tackle U.S. methane emissions. “We’re delivering on our promise of leadership,” Biden told the packed conference hall at COP27.
And yet it wasn’t enough. Before and after his speech, activists said the U.S. had failed to follow through on its financial obligations to help developing countries address climate change. Just a few days earlier, the European Union, a close ally and key global supporter of climate action, complained that the IRA violated trade norms with provisions prioritizing the U.S. supply chain. Meanwhile, a wide range of critics rejected a key U.S. proposal to incentivize the private sector to finance climate efforts in the Global South.
“Biden is throwing crumbs into lots of different pots,” says Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa. “That might sound impressive, but it’s not the help that is needed.”
It’s a challenging dynamic: the U.S. is simultaneously doing the most it ever has done to address the perils posed by climate change and, at the same time, facing widespread pressure for not doing enough fast enough. It’s a reality explained by both the U.S. history on climate change and the country’s complicated politics—not to mention the growing urgency to address climate change in some of the most vulnerable places.
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Source : time
