Guest essay by Eric Worrall
My question: How many world leaders will actually be staring at a VR screen for the entire two days instead of delivering a fake feed of sitting at their computer and watching?
President Biden invites 40 heads of state and government to the climate summit
MARCH 26, 2021 • STATEMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS
Today President Biden invited 40 world leaders to the climate summit, which he will host on April 22nd and 23rd. The virtual summit of the heads of state and government will be broadcast live for public broadcast.
President Biden took action on his first day in office to bring the United States back to the Paris Agreement. Days later, on January 27, he announced that he would soon convene a summit of leaders to step up efforts by major economies to tackle the climate crisis.
The summit of heads of state and government on climate will underline the urgency and economic benefits of stronger climate action. This will be an important milestone on the way to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November.
In recent years, scientists have emphasized the need to limit the warming of the planet to 1.5 degrees Celsius in order to stave off the worst effects of climate change. A major goal of both the Leaders Summit and COP26 will be to catalyze efforts to keep this 1.5 degree target within reach. The summit will also highlight examples of how better climate action creates well-paid jobs, drive innovative technologies and help vulnerable countries adapt to the effects on the climate.
At the time of the summit The United States will announce an ambitious emissions target for 2030 as a new nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement. In his invitation, the President called on the heads of state and government to use the summit as an opportunity to demonstrate how their countries will also contribute to greater climate protection.
At the summit, the US-led forum on energy and climate for the major economies will be convened again, bringing together 17 countries that are responsible for around 80 percent of global emissions and global GDP. The President also invited the heads of state and government of other countries that have strong climate leadership, are particularly vulnerable to climate impacts, or show innovative ways to achieve a net-zero economy. A small number of business and civil society leaders will also attend the summit.
The main themes of the summit include:
- Electroplating the efforts of the world’s major economies to reduce emissions during this critical decade to keep a 1.5 degree Celsius warming limit within reach.
- Mobilize public and private sector funding to advance zero-to-zero transition and help vulnerable countries cope with climate change.
- The economic benefits of climate action with a strong focus on job creation and the importance of ensuring that all communities and workers benefit from the transition to a new clean energy economy.
- Promotion of transformation technologies that can help reduce emissions and adapt to climate changeAt the same time, enormous new economic opportunities are being created and the industries of the future are being built up.
- Showcasing sub-national and non-state actors advocating for green recreation and a just vision to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and working closely with national governments to foster ambition and resilience.
- Discuss ways to strengthen the ability to protect lives and livelihoods from the effects of climate change, address the global security challenges of climate change and its implications for preparedness, and discuss the role of nature-based solutions in achieving the net zero targets by 2050.
Further details on the summit agenda, additional attendees, media access and public viewing will be announced in the coming weeks.
The President invited the following Heads of State or Government to attend the summit:
- Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Antigua and Barbuda
- President Alberto Fernandez, Argentina
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Australia
- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh
- Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, Bhutan
- President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada
- President Sebastián Piñera, Chile
- President Xi Jinping, People’s Republic of China
- President Iván Duque Marquez, Colombia
- President Félix Tshisekedi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Denmark
- President Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission
- President Charles Michel, European Council
- President Emmanuel Macron, France
- President Ali Bongo Ondimba, Gabon
- Chancellor Angela Merkel
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India
- President Joko Widodo, Indonesia
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel
- Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Italy
- Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Jamaica
- Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Japan
- President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya
- President David Kabua, Republic of the Marshall Islands
- President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico
- Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand
- President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria
- Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Norway
- President Andrzej Duda, Poland
- President Moon Jae-in, Republic of Korea
- President Vladimir Putin, Russian Federation
- King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore
- President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa
- Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Spain
- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey
- President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, United Arab Emirates
- Prime Minister Boris Johnson, United Kingdom
- President Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam
Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/26/president-biden-invites-40-world-leaders-to-leaders-summit-on-climate/
Biden isn’t wrong – this virtual climate conference could lead to serious technological advances.
Nations are judged on their ability to produce fake feed video software that convincingly mimics the sincerity.
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