Washington – French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday welcomed the US back to the Paris climate agreements, saying President Biden was “100% right” to join the agreement and seek further reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
“It’s time to deliver. It’s time to hurry, and President Biden is 100% right to do so,” Macron said in a face-to-face interview on Sunday. “I think the decision made by your president in general this year was super important. Welcome back. I was extremely happy because now the US and the federal government have decided to join again and commit.”
In 2017, then-President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, citing unfair standards for American businesses and workers. Mr Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office in January accession to the 2015 agreement, which set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Mr Biden is hosting a virtual summit this week with dozens of world leaders to discuss further action to combat climate change.
While welcoming Mr Biden’s moves, Macron acknowledged that many of the 184 signatory countries had not met their own emissions reduction targets.
“As Europeans, we raised our targets for 2030 and 2050 a few months ago, because we are really lagging behind our targets. And now we need to accelerate, because we are experiencing the first consequences of climate change,” he said. said Macron.
China and India are the first and third largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, respectively. When asked if these countries should make new commitments to reduce their emissions, Macron said they are both improving their systems and are committed to reducing hydrofluorocarbons, which he said are even worse than emissions. carbon.
“We need two things. We need to accelerate innovation and the ability to deliver. We need India and China to be with us,” Macron said. “I had a discussion with President Xi and I think I felt President Xi’s climate commitments to work with the US and Europe. First to accelerate his 2030 target to have the peak of the broadcast, and in some cities and in some regions it is doing better and faster. “
But meeting those targets would require rising carbon prices, Macron said, which could exacerbate social inequality. The French president said that the dynamics were overlooked in 2018, when the country faced riots, protests and violence for an increase in fuel taxes.
“We need to help the middle class and the poor make this change with us,” Macron said. “This is a comprehensive and inclusive agenda. I am sure of that now. And I can tell you, with a lot of humility, I’m even more sure, because I made a mistake myself “.