President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel avoided soaring rhetoric and delved into policy. Modi said the goal of reaching “net zero” by 2070 was one of five measures India planned to undertake to meet its commitments under the Paris climate accord. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told his colleagues that humans are “digging our own graves.” And Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, speaking for vulnerable island nations, added moral thunder, warning leaders not to “allow the path of greed and selfishness to sow the seeds of our common destruction.”Īmid the speeches, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his coal-dependent country will aim to stop adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere by 2070 - two decades after the United States and at least 10 years later than China.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described global warming as “a doomsday device” strapped to humanity. The metaphors were dramatic and mixed at the start of the talks, known as COP26. World leaders turned up the heat and resorted to end-of-the-world rhetoric Monday in an attempt to bring new urgency to sputtering international climate negotiations.
