President Biden and other world leaders have departed Glasgow and the U.N. climate summit as day three ushers in closed-door negotiations on how to combat the climate catastrophe. On Tuesday, 90 countries agreed to slash methane emissions by 30% by 2030. This is Biden announcing the U.S.’s commitments.
President Joe Biden: “We’re proposing two new rules, one through our Environmental Protection Agency that’s going to reduce methane losses from new and existing oil and gas pipelines, and one through the Department of Transportation to reduce wasteful and potential dangerous leaks from natural gas pipelines.”
But climate activists slammed Biden for making climate pledges while his administration continues to advance plans to sell oil and gas leases on U.S. public lands.
Meanwhile, Indigenous leaders questioned commitments from over 100 countries to end deforestation by 2030. This is Telma Taurepang, who leads the Union of Indigenous Women of the Brazilian Amazon.
Telma Taurepang: “We don’t have yet a public policy toward the Indigenous peoples in Brazil that makes sure it happens for real. And they will only for certain stop deforestation if there is the demarcation of our Indigenous lands. Without demarcation, there’s no way to stop deforestation.”
In other news from COP26, the U.S., the European Union and other wealthy nations have announced a new deal to provide $8.5 billion to South Africa to help it decommission its coal plants and invest in renewable energy. South Africa is one of the largest coal producers in the world.