President Biden headed home from Glasgow with agreements to cut methane emissions and deforestation, but he rebuked the leaders of China and Russia for not attending.

key points:

• Biden hails two big agreements at COP26 and scolds Russia and China.

• As Biden leaves Glasgow with progress on climate change, the most important goals remain elusive.

• The U.S. says $100 billion a year in climate aid for developing nations is within reach.

• Global leaders announce new efforts to curb methane emissions.

• Wednesday’s lineup for The NYT Climate Hub: Greta Thunberg and Al Gore.

• A pledge to end deforestation aims to protect ‘the lungs of our planet.’

• Why curbs on methane are crucial to slowing global warming.

• The billions set aside in Glasgow to save forests represent a fraction of spending to support fossil fuels.

GLASGOW — President Biden capped two days of climate talks with fellow world leaders by hailing new international commitments to curb warming, knocking China and Russia for not participating, and expressing confidence that his domestic climate agenda will clear the House and Senate.

The president said he felt certain that Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, a key Democratic holdout on the $1.85 trillion climate change and social safety net bill that Democrats are debating in Congress, would ultimately vote for the bill.

“I believe that Joe will be there,” Mr. Biden said. “I think we’ll get this done.”

Mr. Biden drew a sharp contrast between American leadership and the efforts of China and Russia, whose leaders did not travel to the United Nations summit on climate change, known as COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland.

“I think it’s been a big mistake for China” not to show up at the conference, he said. “They’ve lost their ability to influence people around the world, and people here at COP.”

“It just is a gigantic issue and they walked away,” Mr. Biden said of the Chinese leadership. “How do you do that and claim to have any leadership mantle?”

Mr. Biden had similarly sharp words for President Vladimir Putin of Russia. “His tundra is burning,” Mr. Biden said. “Literally, his tundra is burning. He has serious climate problems. And he has been mum on his willingness to do anything.”

He was asked in the news conference why the United States should make commitments that China and other major producers of greenhouse gases have not.

“Because we want to be able to breathe and we want to be able to lead the world,” Mr. Biden said.

He said of the agreements at the summit, “I can’t think of any two days when more has been accomplished.”

As Mr. Biden prepared to head home on Tuesday, there were growing signs of intraparty discord over his agenda in Washington: Mr. Manchin said that he would not vote on the social plan until he knew more about what it would cost, a move that threatened to undermine Mr. Biden’s sense of optimism abroad and complicate a path to the quick vote the president wants when he gets back home.

“While I have worked hard to find a path to compromise, it is obvious compromise is not good enough for some in Congress,” Mr. Manchin said on Monday, reading from prepared remarks. “It’s all or nothing, and their position doesn’t seem to change unless we agree to everything. Enough is enough.”

Mr. Manchin was apparently referring to liberals in the House, who have put up their own roadblocks on a separate $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.

He warned, “I’m open to supporting a final bill that helps move our country forward, but I’m equally open to voting against a bill that hurts our country.”

While in Glasgow, Mr. Biden was asked throughout the day about Mr. Manchin’s comments, but avoided answering until his evening news conference. In his remarks and his answers to reporters, he said the world must do more to meet the climate challenge, but he stressed what he said were words of thanks he had received from other leaders for bringing the United States back to negotiations after disengagement under former President Donald J. Trump.

“We showed up,” Mr. Biden said. “And by showing up, we’ve had a profound impact.”

source: https://www.nytimes.com/

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