India’s environment minister, Prakash Javadekar, underscored that challenge in remarks Wednesday reported by the Hindustan Times, saying his country will not bow to pressure from the wealthier nations that have done the most to warm the Earth. “We are not responsible for the climate change that is happening,” he said.
People following the talks say the resistance to major new promises is partly due to the growing frequency of calls on national governments to announce ever more stringent measures. The diplomatic calendar is packed for this year, with the Biden summit adding another event that left foreign leaders little time for preparation. Many major economies still dealing with the economic fallout of the pandemic have had enough trouble getting their policies finished for looming G7 and G20 meetings, let alone devoting attention to the U.N. General Assembly in the fall and November’s international climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland.
“Countries have already been preparing for those, so if they give the Biden administration something now they have to think of something new for later,” said George David Banks, who led the Trump administration’s international climate efforts. “I think it’s a challenge.”
Rumblings have emerged in Washington that in addition to a carbon emissions reduction target, the U.S. might also formally call for ending public financing for overseas coal projects and sharply restricting public support for natural gas, along with issuing domestic measures to prepare the financial system for climate-related shocks.
Aside from those U.S. announcements, Biden’s summit may see few other substantive achievements. News reports indicate that Korea and Japan may issue new statements about ending public financing for coal projects and possibly boosting their emissions reductions goals, while Canada in February said it would increase its climate target alongside the U.S.
Developing nations also have lamented lackluster financial commitments from wealthier ones. In his remarks, India’s Javadekar blasted rich countries for failing to put up more money to aid less-developed nations that did little to produce the emissions that have put the planet in dire straits. Still, he said India would “over-achieve” its climate goals.
But signals from Japan and South Korea are mixed, with media reports conflicting each other. One Japan-based campaigner who spoke on condition of anonymity described rumored commitments as “rather vague.” And U.S. campaigners, like DeAngelis, said the two countries have often waffled on making more forthright statements.
Either way, the coal finance issue will likely emerge when Biden meets with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for a state visit Friday. Kerry was meeting with Korean and Chinese officials this week “to discuss raising global climate ambition” ahead of the summit, the State Department said.
Kerry and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm also have pressed oil- and gas-producing nations in the Persian Gulf for a unified statement on climate for the summit, though Biden officials acknowledged the chances of success were slim, according to a person familiar with the administration’s efforts. Biden officials had made direct pleas to Saudi Arabia for the kingdom to participate in the Gulf Cooperation Council climate meeting Kerry attended last week in Dubai, but it declined, the person said.
“The administration would love to see results and a commitment in time for the summit and they’re working very hard on it, but it’s difficult to envision it happening,” said the person who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive policy matters, referring to the likelihood of a climate announcement from oil-producing Gulf states timed for the summit.
People who have spoken with Biden administration officials also believe that environmentalists hoping the administration would issue a blanket ban against publicly financing natural gas projects next week will be disappointed. Those groups have hoped for a prohibition after Biden issued a January executive order directing agencies how to handle public finance for “carbon-intensive” energy projects.
A former Obama administration official who has spoken with the Biden team said approvals for federal investments for international natural gas projects will likely be issued on a case-by-case basis. Biden officials said they were particularly concerned that areas where zero-carbon energy projects simply were not viable and for which natural gas financing was unavailable would instead turn to coal, the person said.
