Washington – French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the US back into the Paris climate accords on Sunday, saying President Biden was “100% right” to rejoin the agreement and push for further reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
“It’s time to deliver. It’s time to rush, and President Biden is 100% right to do so,” Macron said in an interview with “Face the Nation” that aired Sunday. “I think the decision your president made overall this year was super important. Welcome back. I was thrilled because now the US and the federal government have decided to rejoin and commit. ”
In 2017, then-President Donald Trump announced that the US would withdraw from the Paris climate accord, citing unfair standards for US companies and workers. Mr. Biden signed an executive order on his first day of office in January re-accede to the 2015 accord, which set goals for countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Mr. Biden is hosting a virtual summit this week with dozens of world leaders to discuss further action against climate change.
While praising Mr. Biden’s moves, Macron acknowledged that many of the 184 countries that signed the agreement have failed to meet their own emission reduction targets.
“As Europeans, we raised our 2030 and 2050 targets a few months ago because we were indeed lagging behind our targets. And now we need to accelerate as we are experiencing the first impacts of essentially climate disturbances,” Macron said.
China and India are respectively the first and third largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. When asked if these countries should make new commitments to reduce their emissions, Macron said both are improving their systems and are committed to reducing hydrofluorocarbons, which he says are worse than carbon dioxide emissions.
“We need two things. We need to accelerate innovation and performance. We need India and China to be with us,” Macron said. “We had a discussion with President Xi and I think we felt President Xi’s commitments on climate to work with the US and Europe. First to accelerate his 2030 target to have peak emissions, and in some cities and towns. some regions to do better and faster. “
But to achieve these goals, carbon prices would have to rise, Macron said, which could exacerbate social inequality. The French president said dynamism was overlooked in 2018 as the country faced riots, protests and violence over an increase in fuel taxes.
“We need to help the middle class and the poor to make this change with us,” Macron said. “This is a comprehensive and inclusive agenda. I am now sure of that. And I can tell you with a lot of humility, I am even more sure because I made mistakes myself. “