WASHINGTON ( Associated Press) – US President Joe Biden, who has recently focused on increasing crude production to drive down gasoline costs, turned his attention to climate change on Friday as he addressed some of the world’s most Led a virtual meeting of the major economies.
Participants include China, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Also present was Egypt, which will host the next UN climate meeting, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Biden reiterated his goal of lowering gasoline prices in the United States, which average $5 per gallon (3.78 liters), while moving the country away from fossil fuels to limit climate change and its risks. Used to be.
“I am using every available lever to lower prices for the American people,” Biden declared. “But the important point is that our actions are part of our transition to a clean and safe long-term energy future.”
The conference is known as the Forum of Major Economies on Energy and Climate, and began in 2009 during the Obama administration. Among its priorities are reducing methane emissions and putting more zero-emissions vehicles on the road.
Biden administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they expect some countries to announce more ambitious climate goals as part of the landmark 2015 agreement in Paris.
In an interview Thursday at the White House with The Associated Press, Biden sounded the alarm about extreme weather events.
“We have more hurricanes and tornadoes and floods,” he said. People saw it: I took my kids to Yellowstone Park years ago. They call me: ‘Dad, did you see what happened at Yellowstone?’ It’s unimaginable. They are events every 1,000 years.
But the Russian invasion of Ukraine has shaken Biden’s climate goals by sending gasoline prices soaring. Facing political pressure to cut prices in a midterm election year, the Democratic president has called on US refiners to produce even more at a time when he says they lack long-term incentives to do so. Because the administration is accelerating the transition to clean energy.
“Well, I’m telling you, in the short term, do the right thing,” Biden said Thursday, highlighting his view that companies should increase production rather than try to maximize profits.
