United States President Joe Biden announced that he and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to have the US and Canada “double down” on “net-zero emissions by 2050” efforts. The arrangement took place during their first bilateral meeting, in which the two leaders sought to jump-start renewed diplomatic efforts.
The countries will address the climate crisis together by launching a joint initiative to meet the net-zero carbon emissions goal. Biden said they intend to demonstrate their leadership to spur other countries to raise their own ambitions.
Biden said in a speech following the bilateral meeting:
Canada and the United States are going to work in lockstep to display the seriousness of our commitment at both home and abroad. We’re launching a high-level, climate-ambition ministerial to align our policies and our goals to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
A US official explained that Canada would “cooperate on policy alignment,” including matters of mutual interest such as climate change resilience, reducing methane in oil and gas operations, and transportation. The country plans to announce its new emission reduction targets by April 22 – when the US will host a climate leader’s summit.
Biden told Trudeau during their meeting that:
The United States has no closer friend than Canada. That’s why you were my first call as president, my first bilateral meeting. … We’re all best served when the United States and Canada work together and lead together in close coordination on a whole range of issues.
During the virtual meeting, the leaders outlined a US-Canada Partnership Roadmap for dealing with the climate emergency, COVID-19, systemic racism, discrimination, national security, and supporting sustainable and inclusive economies.
Trudeau said after the meeting:
As we’re preparing the joint rollout and communique from this one, it’s nice when the Americans aren’t pulling out all references to climate change and, instead, adding them in.
The US-Canada partnership comes after Biden’s move to revoke a key permit for the Keystone XL crude pipeline that would have transported oil (830,000 barrels a day) from Alberta, Canada, to Nebraska in the US. It was one of a slew of executive orders – including ordering federal agencies to review environmental rollbacks under former president Donald Trump and recommitting the US to the Paris climate agreement – that Biden signed immediately following his inauguration.
Biden’s decision to block the $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline project “disappointed” Trudeau, as did his “Buy American” executive order, which hurt Canada by redirecting government purchasing to domestic manufacturers. However, remarks following the meeting signaled the leaders are prepared to move on from the pipeline controversy. They will build upon their rekindled relationship to address urgent crises, like the coronavirus pandemic and civil rights.
Trudeau said:
We’re facing tough times, there’s no doubt, but we’re not facing them alone. We stand united to beat this pandemic, build a better tomorrow, and I know our bond will grow even stronger.
The dangers of climate change are increasingly obvious. Weather-related disasters are now displacing 16 million people a year worldwide, increasing migration and becoming a national security matter for every country.
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said:
Make no mistake, climate change’s existential threat to our own survival is not a future consideration, but a current reality.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
It is absolutely clear that climate change is a threat to our collective security and the security of our nations. Whether you like it or not, it is a matter of when, not if, your country and your people will have to deal with the security impacts of climate change.
Wealthier countries have committed to raising $100bn a year to aid poorer countries under the Paris Agreement. However, that funding was supposed to start in 2020, and the goal is yet to be met.
