President Joe Biden apologizes to world leaders at the COP26 climate summit for former President Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord and knew almost immediately he flubbed it.
The Dems tend to get hammered when they go abroad and apologize for America, something Biden seemed to acknowledge. He went ahead and did it anyway which surely will not help his sinking poll numbers.
Biden said: “I guess I shouldn’t apologize, but I do apologize for the fact that the United States under the last administration pulled out of the Paris accord. That kind of put us behind the eight ball a bit.”
Biden added: “The American people, four or five years ago, weren’t at all sure about climate change, whether it was real. Well, they have, as they say in southern parts of my state, seen the lord.
“They’ve seen what’s happened back home, the incredible changes that are taking place, and they’re now finally — finally, finally, finally — realizing the sense of urgency that you all are.
“When future historians look back on the 2020s, I think they’ll find that we let this final chance to stem the crisis slip through our fingers because we did too little or failed to act, or are they going to say that in the 2020s we stepped up and do what’s necessary?
“The United States, if I have anything to do with it, will do our part,” he said.
From Yahoo:
Outside the convention venue, Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg arrived at a protest aboard a ship owned by the environmental organization Greenpeace to make her case that that the world’s leaders had failed younger generations.
“’Betrayal.’ That’s how young people around the world are describing our governments’ failure to cut carbon emissions. And it’s no surprise,” Thunberg and other youth climate activists said in a petition meant to pressure world leaders to action.
In his words at COP26, Biden sounded sympathetic to Thunberg’s concerns. Speaking of the lack of leadership on climate change that defined the previous administration, he said, “I know it hasn’t been the case, and that’s why my administration is working overtime to show that our climate commitment is action, not words.”
Pledging to “do more to help countries around the world, especially developing countries,” transition to economies that use renewable energy, Biden said the U.S. has “an obligation to help” and vowed to quadruple climate financing in the coming years. Yet he also admitted that the world’s wealthiest nations have yet to make good on past pledges to help the poorer ones make the transition to renewables.
“Right now we’re still falling short. There’s no more time to hang back or sit on the fence or argue amongst ourselves,” Biden said.
“I shouldn’t apologize, but I do apologize for the fact that the United States in the last administration pulled out of the Paris accords and put us sort of behind,” President Biden tells world leaders at the climate summit in Glasgow.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) November 1, 2021
President Biden: “I guess I shouldn’t apologize, but I do apologize for the fact that the United States — the last administration — pulled out of the Paris Accords and put us sort of behind the 8 ball.” https://t.co/Gsjps4whWC pic.twitter.com/Bpepv9WHQ1
— The Hill (@thehill) November 1, 2021
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Biden: ‘I do apologize’ for Trump pulling US from Paris climate accord, says US ‘will do our part’ to lower emissions.
— darlene superville (@dsupervilleap) November 1, 2021
