乔·拜登总统将利用地球日来重振美国在全球应对气候变化努力中的领导地位，他将于本周主持世界领导人的虚拟气候峰会，并预计将宣布一项美国的新目标减少温室气体排放-据报道到2030年，这个比例可能高达50%。
白宫拒绝在峰会前提供关于目标的信息。
拜登和他的气候特使约翰·克里一直致力于推动其他主要污染者中国印度和欧盟成员国制定了类似的雄心勃勃的目标，其中许多将被代表在峰会上。
一名高级政府官员说，拜登希望这次峰会能够确保美国在气候变化问题上与主要国际行为者密切协调。
“我们真正采取的方法是，我们只能通过合作来解决这场危机。这位官员告诉记者:“防止气候危机需要前所未有的全球合作，以及共同的紧迫感和雄心。”
埃文·武奇/美联社，档案
总统气候特使约翰·克里(右)在聆听乔·拜登总统的演讲
一位高级政府官员告诉记者，白宫邀请的所有40位世界领导人都被确认参加定于本周四和周五举行的峰会。与领导人亲自会晤的峰会不同，拜登预计不会单独会见任何参与国的代表。
在两天的时间里，多名美国官员将发表讲话，包括拜登、副总统卡玛拉•哈里斯、国务卿安东尼·布林肯、气候特使克里和国家气候顾问吉娜·麦卡锡。领导人将讨论污染最严重的国家如何减少二氧化碳排放、金融改革、创新和降低碳捕捉等技术的成本，以及投资气候解决方案的经济效益。
这次峰会与他的前任形成了鲜明的对比唐纳德·特朗普总统他使美国退出了巴黎协议，并在很大程度上缺席了全球气候谈判，尽管他声称将为美国谈判一项更好的协议。近年来，许多国家宣布了减少二氧化碳排放的新目标，但联合国发现，将全球变暖限制在巴黎协议中设定的1.5摄氏度的目标仍然不够。
安永俊/美联社
一场旨在“领先”前夕提高人们对气候变化风险的认识的激光束秀
一名高级政府官员表示，他们计划强调，特朗普缺乏对气候变化的参与并不意味着不能相信美国会坚持到底，美国的总体记录仍然良好。
这位官员说:“过去四年有一位总统没有参与进来，这一事实并没有削弱州、市、企业积极向前发展的事实。”他说，美国已经非常接近奥巴马政府时期设定的轨迹。
预计2021年全球二氧化碳排放量将增加4.8%，据国际能源署称，消除了大流行期间排放量的下降，而许多人在家工作，避免旅行。尽管全球可再生能源的使用量持续增长，但对煤炭等化石燃料的需求也在不断增加中国和其他国家。
Biden seeks to reestablish US leadership on climate with Earth Day summit
Using Earth Day to relaunch the U.S. as a leader in the global effort to combat climate change, President Joe Biden is set to host world leaders for a virtual climate summit this week and is expected to announce anew goal for the U.S.to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions --reportedlyby perhaps as much as 50% by 2030.
The White House declined to provide information about the goal before the summit.
Biden and his special envoy for climate John Kerry have been working to push other major polluters likeChina, India, and members of the European Union to set similarly ambitious goals, many of whichwill be representedat the summit.
A senior administration official said Biden wants the summit to ensure the U.S. is coordinating closely with key international players on climate change.
"We really are taking the approach that we can only solve this crisis by working together. Preventing the climate crisis requires unprecedented global cooperation, and as well as a shared sense of urgency and ambition," the official told reporters.
All 40 world leaders invited with the White House are confirmed to attend the summit scheduled Thursday and Friday of this week, a senior administration official told reporters. Unlike a summit where leaders meet in person Biden is not expected to meet separately with representatives from any of the participating countries.
Over the two-day period multiple U.S. officials will speak including Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and special envoy for climate Kerry and national climate adviser Gina McCarthy. The leaders will discuss how the highest polluting countries can reduce carbon dioxide emissions, financial reform, innovation and making technology like carbon capture cheaper, and the economic benefits of investing in climate solutions.
The summit marks a major contrast with his predecessorPresident Donald Trump, who pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement and was largely absent from global climate talks despite claims he would negotiate a better deal for the U.S. Many countries have announced new goals to reduce CO2 emissions in recent years but the U.N. has found it still isn't enough to limit global warming to the 1.5° Celsius goal set in the Paris Agreement.
A senior administration official said that they plan to emphasize that Trump's lack of engagement on climate change doesn't mean the U.S. can't be trusted to follow through and that the country's track record is still good overall.
"The fact that the last four years had a president that wasn't engaged does not diminish the fact that states, cities, businesses were actively moving forward," the official said, saying the country is pretty close to the trajectory set during the Obama administration.
Global CO2 emissions are projected to increase 4.8% in 2021,according to the International Energy Agency, erasing the drop in emissions during the pandemic while many people worked from home and avoided travel. While the amount of renewable energy being used around the world continues to increase there is also increasing demand for the use of fossil fuels like coal inChinaand other countries.
