John Kerry, President Biden's global climate envoy, warned Thursday that the world is not on a good track to meet its goal of avoiding the most fossil fuels.
At a virtual meeting of the world's most polluting countries, Mr. Kerry asked ministers to outline what their governments are doing to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The meeting was the first since the Glasgow conference of leaders from major economies as well as small island nations and other countries vulnerable to climate change. Mr. Kerry said that change was not happening fast enough.
One thing is clear, we all must move faster in this decade to accelerate the transition from coal to renewable energy, Mr. Kerry said in a statement after the closed-door meeting.
The United States Chamber of Commerce sponsored an event this week where he was more blunt.
We are in trouble. I hope everyone understands that, Mr. Kerry said. We are not on a good path.
Nations have pledged to keep average global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Scientists say the dangers of devastating sea level rise, heat waves, and drought are much higher beyond that threshold. The world has warmed by an average of 1.1 degrees.
The world used 9 percent more coal last year than it did in 2020, and there are nearly 300 gigawatts of new coal power in the works, according to a statement by Mr. Kerry. The International Energy Agency has said that countries must shut down at least 870 gigawatts of coal in the next eight years to have a hope of keeping global temperatures at bay.
Mr. Kerry said that we need to be shutting down existing plants.
Few countries have policies in place to meet their climate goals. The US has not.
Mr. Biden promised to cut America's greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade. Legislation critical to meeting that goal is stuck in Congress.
Questions remain about a promise at the heart of the deal in Glasgow: countries agreed to spend this year developing new climate targets to more aggressively cut their emissions.
There are signs that are discouraging. Mr. Kerry said that the United States is not expected to set new goals. Australia is not considered a climate leader.
Steven Guilbeault, the Canadian environment minister, said his country wouldn't submit a new target. Mr. Guilbeault said that Canada had increased its ambition to cut emissions by up to 45 percent this decade.
Mr. Guilbeault said that it doesn't apply to them and that they are shutting the door to the possibility of further increasing their targets. He said that the government is focused on meeting its goals.
The president of China suggested this week that he would not reduce emissions at the expense of other priorities, such as food and energy security.
At Thursday's meeting, countries discussed how to cut methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that comes from oil and gas wells, and set collective goals regarding electric vehicles and green energy from wind, solar or other sources.
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