In this file photo taken on April 2, 2021, US President Joe Biden speaks about the March jobs report in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC. — AFP picWASHINGTON, April 18 — President Joe Biden hopes to give a shot of adrenaline to the planet’s sluggish fight against climate change with an Earth Day summit but a question lingers — can the United States be trusted to lead?
“Of course there’s this cloud over the entire summit — the question of whether the United States is really back for the long term,” she said.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in an interview with AFP, put it this way: “The commitment that the US has shown after a few years away from the climate table is something that people will be looking to ensure that it is serious, that it is committed.
But he said the Biden administration appeared determined to “lock in” emission reductions — and lead the rest of the world with it. John Kerry, who negotiated the Paris Agreement as Obama’s secretary of state and has joined Biden as US climate envoy, has also reached out to adversaries, arguing that not working with them would be “just killing yourself” on a planetary challenge.