The climate of the planet is evolving. Temperatures are rising, precipitation and snow patterns are shifting, and unusual climate events, such as intense rainstorms and record-breaking temperatures, are already occurring. The rise in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas concentrations in our atmosphere, which is a result of human activity, is linked to all of these observable changes.
The human race's attention has been drawn to the climate issue, not just by environmentalists but also by governments and policymakers who urgently require particular attention. Even though, the fact that the solar cycle will alter the earth's climate, it would not have as much of an impact as human actions like burning fossil fuels, which cause global warming, the natural variations of the solar cycle are sometimes blamed for the planet's rising temperature.
Climate issues also attracted the attention of the President of the United States, Joe Biden. In the last presidential debate (22/10/2020) against President Donald Trump, Biden touched on climate change. He stated climate change is the number one problem facing mankind today. "This is the number one problem facing humanity. "And that's been problem number one for me," Biden said in an interview with Dan Pfeiffer on "Pod Save America." Furthermore, in this podcast, Biden also plans to transition energy from using oil "No one is going to build oil or gas power plants anymore. They will build from renewable energy fuels," Biden said.
The US normal temperature has risen more than 2F over the past 50 years and is anticipated to rise more in the future; how much more depends primarily on the sum of heat-trapping gases radiated universally and how sensitive the climate is to those emissions. A federal government report on Monday (7/11/2022), noted the country has experienced an average of nearly eight disasters worth $1 billion annually over the last four decades, but in the last five years, the average has jumped to nearly 18 events every year. "The things Americans value most are at risk," wrote the authors of the National Climate Assessment in a 1,695-page draft.
Climate change in the United States is a major challenge for society, policymakers, and entrepreneurs. The changes that have occurred include rising sea levels, decreased crop production due to extreme temperatures, and the lack of clean water. From an economic perspective, America has lost between $1 trillion and $3.5 trillion as the coast's infrastructure, housing, and property have been damaged by rising sea levels. Â Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to kill around 250,000 people annually from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress alone. Direct health impacts are estimated to be $2-4 billion annually by 2030. Areas with weak health infrastructure (mainly developing countries) cannot cope without preparedness and response support.
On Wednesday (20/7/2022), President Joe Biden delivers his address on climate change at a former coal plant in Somerset, Massachusetts. Biden announces executive steps to tackle climate problems, he uses his executive powers to make climate emergency declarations "Congress is not acting as it should... it's an emergency and I'll look into it," Biden said. "As president, I will use my executive powers to fight climate problems without any executive action."
The initiative began by providing funding of $2.3 billion for programs to help communities prepare for disasters in flood control and repairing damage to buildings, as well as funding medium-sized families to cover heating and air conditioning costs. Biden's attention to climate change is also focused on plans to invest that amount of money in clean energy management for the zero-carbon pollution from electricity by 2035, net zero emissions by 2050, transportation, and building industries, cutting fossil fuel emissions, and advancing infrastructure. Biden also stressed rules requiring federal companies to reduce carbon emissions and use federal purchasing power to revive fragile supply chains today to tackle climate change.
The president also directed the Department of the Interior to propose a new offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Mexico, a plan that could power more than 3 million homes and help the government meet its goal of providing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. Biden is directing the Department Domestically to promote wind energy development in the mid and south-Atlantic coastal waters and along the Florida Gulf Coast.
In addition to establishing the climate change crisis, countries have also signed an international treaty, namely the Paris Agreement, which was signed on April 22, 2016, as a global response to solving climate issues. The Paris Agreement is a joint action framework for 193 parties and signing countries to address climate change issues. Simply put, this agreement aims to help all countries avoid climate change disasters, build resilience, and provide protection against climate change's current impacts. This agreement also initiated an agreement for developed countries as the major contributor to drastic climate change due to their industrialization agenda, the agreement is a form of providing 'assistance funds' of $100 million to help developing countries in climate management efforts.
In 2019, under the leadership of President Donald Trump, the United States left this agreement because he felt that from a political and economic perspective, it would harm the US and benefit other countries. However, after Trump's leadership, the US re-signed and re-join the agreement under Biden's command. The United States returns to the Paris agreement have demonstrated Biden's seriousness in tackling climate change. The instrument that brought the United States back to the Paris Agreement was signed on January 20, 2021, on Biden's first day as president of Uncle Sam's country. "We immediately rejoin the Paris Agreement, we convene a major climate change summit, and we reestablish," he said.
On Wednesday (26/10/2022), a report from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) noted that countries in the world have succeeded in lowering the global greenhouse gas emission curve but still have not reached the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius global temperature rise. Climate change is an issue that has existed for a long time. This change seems natural because of the influence of the solar cycle, which varies over a long period. However, since the emergence of the Industrial Revolution, precisely in18th century, human activities have mainly been the main driver of drastic climate change, which is getting worse.
Furthermore, the temperature of the earth's climate depends on the effect of natural greenhouse gases; this effect is in the form of gases that trap heat, such as carbon dioxide, ozone, nitrous oxide, and methane gas, which absorbs solar heat and reflects it to the outside Earth surface. However, the greenhouse effect that occurred during the last two centuries is caused by human activities, one of which is burning fossil fuels that produce carbon emissions and artificial greenhouse gases, like a blanket covering the earth that traps the sun's heat. The atmosphere and the ozone layer in some areas of the world are getting thinner due to these emissions, which makes the earth's temperature hotter.
Climate change will also significantly impact the country's economy, slow growth, and threaten critical civilian, economic, and/or military infrastructure and equipment. In addition, countries may seek to implement geoengineering projects to reduce the impacts of climate change on their regions at the expense of potentially damaging effects on other countries, where climate change opens new competitive arenas. Climate change can also alter national satisfaction with the status quo, particularly through the opening of new territories, sea lanes, and natural resources and leading to new negotiations about their exploitation.
On Friday (4/11/2022), President Joe Biden made a brief visit to the climate change summit ahead of the COP27 series to let the world know that the United States is taking back its role in tackling climate change that is making the planet warmer. The real threat of climate change has become one of Biden's top priorities after a few days ago he made a speech about the threat to United States democracy. At the previous COP26 meeting in Glasglow, Switzerland, Biden stated this was a defining decade and the United States needed to act to lead a clean energy future by harnessing market forces, technological innovation, and investment to tackle climate problems.
COP or Conference of the Parties is an annual conference that discusses climate change that is happening in the world. The conference was attended by 196 member countries of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an organization under the auspices of the United Nations that focuses on addressing climate change. In 2022, the 27th session of the COP has been held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, with a series of agendas from 6 to 18 November 2022.
In his official statement at the COP27 summit, Biden reiterated the United States steps in responding to climate change following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Biden said America would spend up to $375 billion on clean energy incentives to cut greenhouse gases that harm the planet and the environment. Biden's move with a $375 billion commitment was instrumental in convincing other countries to join in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and a deal to limit global warming to a target of 1.5 degrees Celsius. "Keep an eye on the ball when it comes to accelerating ambitious actions to reduce emissions," he said.
In his speech at COP27, Biden also stated that America has shown definite steps in responding to this climate problem. "To permanently bend the emissions curve, every country needs to step up." "At this meeting, we must renew and increase our climate ambitions," he said. "The United States has acted; everyone must act." "This is the duty and responsibility of global leadership," he said, in line with Biden's statement, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said "the US parliament has incrementalism for a transformation," and she hopes "COP27 can help save the world for children," she said.
Biden's actions to strengthen US leadership on climate issues will be showcased at COP27 at the President's initiative and will be highlighted by the United States officials' delegation.
First, efforts to strengthen global climate resilience by doubling the US pledge of $150 in adaptation funding to quicken the President's efforts under the Adaptation and Resilience Plan (PREPARE) over Africa.
Second, the United States is helping to accelerate global climate action by launching a new initiative to help Egypt deploy 10 GW of wind and solar power as renewable energy, attempting to phase out 5 GW of wasteful natural gas production and announcing modern measures, the United States says the government is the first citizen to thrust a major supplier to meet the Paris Agreement -- adjusted emission reduction targets -- using the federal government's annual spending control of more than $630 billion.
Third, the United States is catalyzing investment to address climate issues, not as it supports the energy transition to renewable energy but also by taking a new approach to public financing strategies by opening billions of private investments; propelling the Sustainable Banking Alliance to develop sustainable financial markets in developing countries; invest to mobilize billions of dollars in private financing and encourage clean American technology trades.
In addition, the United States is engaged in addressing the climate crisis in all zones of society, notably through the establishment of the Climate Gender Equality Fund, an Innate People Group Finance Access Facility, and new exchanges to empower youth over the world to be pioneers on versatility and clean energy in their communities.
Within two years of taking office, Biden reestablished the US leadership on climate change. President Biden drove the foremost critical national climate activity in American history, including passing the notable Inflation Reduction Act, marking the Bilateral Infrastructure Act, ratifying the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, advancing a new era of clean American manufacturing, and increasing energy for security in the region and abroad, lowering clean energy costs for consumers in the United States and around the world.
This effort reflects President Biden's conviction that climate, energy, food, and water security go hand in hand. As Russia's out-of-line war against Ukraine disrupts energy markets, weighs on the economy with rising costs, and threatens vulnerable countries with severe food shortages, efforts to accelerate climate action, build a clean energy economy, climate-smart agriculture, and global sustainability are intensifying and it will be very difficult.
Despite the various efforts and plans that Biden has made to improve the climate issue, he still faces challenges from the United States Senate itself, because according to the Senate climate change is indeed a problem that needs to be addressed, but no major law is needed to handle it. According to an analytical statement by the Rhodium Group, climate action plans will miss the president's targets without a major climate law.
The participation and activities of the United States at the COP27 summit in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, the re-signing of the Paris Agreement, and the return of the United States as a leader in plans to tackle climate change can also be said to Biden's political strategies to demonstrate his leadership in the international arena. This step will indirectly also be a stimulant for other countries, especially developed countries to participate and follow the same strategy. None other than that, the aim is to show the power and influence in international politics.
