As the United States officially joined the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, US Special Envoy on Climate Crisis, John Kerry asserted that all 17 major emitting countries including India need to step up and begin lowering emissions.
“Everything has to be done with greater sense of urgency, with a determination that we have to win this fight... And we need the United States and every country to determine they will get on a path toward net zero emissions by 2050,” he said on Friday.
A major achievement of the Obama administration, the previous Trump Administration had withdrawn from the Paris Agreement. President Joe Biden, who served as the Vice President during the Obama administration, issued orders to join the Paris Agreement on day one of his presidency.
“… what steps will we take in the next 10 years? And the truth is that everybody has to do that. China, which is the largest emitter in the world needs to be part of the 2020 to 2030 effort.
“India needs to be part of it. Russia needs to be part of it. So is Japan… the major emitters, 17 nations, need to really step up and begin to lower those emissions,” Kerry said.
This challenge, he asserted, means that all countries setting bold and achievable targets have to do so here at home and in the course of their declaration of their national determined contributions (NDCs).
“We have to drive investment toward climate solutions and innovations and resilience. We need to get the entire world on a path towards net zero emissions, and we need to absolutely make certain that happens no later than 2050 and sooner if possible,” he said.