Biden takes climate victory lap in Egypt. To some countries, US is doing too little, too late.

SHARM El-SHEIK, Egypt – President Joe Biden says the United States is “putting our money where our mouth” on efforts to combat climate change.

Biden, in a speech at the COP27 conference in Egypt, took a victory lap on the health and climate spending legislation that he signed into law over the summer, telling the gathering: “We’re proving a good climate policy is good economic policy.”

Russia’s war on Ukraine has driven up food and energy costs around the world, intensifying the search for alternatives to its oil and gas exports.

The increasing volatility of energy supply makes it “more urgent than ever we double down” on clean energy solutions, Biden said.

The latest:

• Why the president is in Egypt: COP27, which is the annual United Nations meeting of the 197 countries that have agreed to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, originally adopted in 1992.
• Why it’s important: The meeting is the decision-making body of the countries that signed onto the framework. It is held to assess how well nations are dealing with climate change.
• How long he will be there: Biden will only spend a few hours in Sharm el-Sheikh; he’s due to depart Friday afternoon for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations conference.
• Who he’s meeting with: Biden held a bilateral with COP27 host and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi when he arrived.
• On the U.S. agenda: Biden brought up Russia’s war against Ukraine with el-Sisi and indicated they would discuss human rights.
• Biden’s big moment: The main event was Biden’s climate remarks. He reiterated that America is on track to reduce its emissions in 2030 by 50% from 2005 levels.
• Who’s in his entourage: Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
• What he announced: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday an updated proposal to reduce methane emissions.  Regan said the proposal aims to reduce emissions and energy waste by 87% below 2005 levels.

What’s about to happen

Biden travels from Sharm el-Sheikh to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where he’ll meet with southeast Asian leaders.

He’ll hold a bilateral meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and attend a gala on Saturday. Biden intends to talk to leaders attending the conference about maintaining peace and stability in the region, with tensions between China and Taiwan at elevated levels. 

Top takeaways

• During a press conference before Biden’s arrival, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi highlighted the United States’ “strong” economic and security relationship with Egypt.
• “In terms of saving the planet, it’s a very close one. That’s what we’re here to do,” Pelosi said.
• She touted the Inflation Reduction Act, saying it has “been the source of much positive conversation” with world leaders at the conference.
•  Joseph Majkut, director of the energy security and climate change program at CSIS, said ahead of Biden’s trip that the climate spending bill would be a top talker.
• “With the IRA now on the books, the president will want to go and say, the U.S. is taking a leadership position on emissions reductions. What are other countries doing to achieve their goals?” he said.
• “I hope that his message will be that the world needs to remain strong on their pledges and that climate cooperation can be kind of a catalyst for addressing all these multiple crises that we’re dealing with right now, that really are just cascading from our broken relationship with nature,” Anne Christianson, director of International Climate Policy at the progressive Center for American Progress said.
• U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said last month during a Chatham House forum that the U.S. has an obligation to help countries “jumpstart” their green energy transition.
• “But if it becomes just sort of liability, and compensation and reparation or something, that’s not going to advance the dialogue,” Kerry said.

Why it matters

Biden’s drop-in at a global U.N. conference on climate change comes on the heels of the most momentous climate legislation in the nation’s history.

But there is also frustration among many nations, with some leaders seeing the U.S. efforts as too little too late.

Biden is unlikely to be able to fulfill a promise to put $11 billion toward international climate aid by 2024, especially if Republicans take control of the House.

His administration said this week that it is considering other ideas that have been floating around the summit to help low-income countries that are emitting fewer greenhouse gases but are projected to be hurt the most by global warming.

Ahead of Biden’s remarks Friday, the White House laid out a plan that includes doubling the United States’ pledge to the Adaptation Fund, which finances projects and programs in developing countries to help with the effects of climate change. Biden will pledge $100 million to the fund, up from the $50 million the United States promised last year.