Obama hits Russia, China for “lack of urgency” on climate

GLASGOW, Scotland – Former President Barack Obama expressed confidence at U.N. climate talks Monday that the Biden administration will ultimately get its $555 billion climate package through Congress, and faulted U.S. rivals China and Russia for what he called a “dangerous lack of urgency” in cutting their own climate-wrecking emissions.

As nations complained of lagging trust and progress in the climate talks, Obama, one of the leaders who paved the way for the historic 2015 Paris climate deal, threw in a touch of his trademark hope even while talking about “images of dystopia” that were creeping into his dreams.

“There are times where the future seems somewhat bleak. There are times where I am doubtful that humanity can get its act together before it’s too late,” Obama said at the two-week-long negotiations. “We can’t afford hopelessness.”

His comments came as conference leaders acknowledged Monday that many key sticking points exist after a week of talks. A trust gap between rich and poor nations on climate change issues emerged when the negotiations went through a checklist of what’s left to be done.

The U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, is Obama’s first since he helped deliver the triumph of the 2015 Paris climate accord, when nations committed to cutting fossil fuel and agricultural emissions fast enough to keep the Earth’s warming below catastrophic levels of 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

That celebration has been replaced by worry. Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris accord. President Joe Biden put America back in the climate deal when he took office, but the Trump move set back U.S. efforts for years. Other top polluters – including China, India and Russia – are moving far more slowly on fighting climate change than scientists say is needed.

Obama’s appearance sought to remind governments of the elation that surrounded the Paris accord and urge them to announce more immediate, concrete steps to put the 2015 deal into action. Optimism and unity is required to save the planet, both in the U.S. and around the world, he said.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat if your Florida house is flooded by rising seas, or your crops fail in the Dakotas, or your California house is burning. Nature, physics, science – they don’t care about party affiliation,” Obama said. “We need everybody – even if we disagree on other things.”

While rapport between U.S. negotiators and their Chinese counterparts was seen as paving the way to the global Paris accord in 2015, Obama on Monday criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin for not joining other global leaders at the climate talks in Glascow.

“It was particularly discouraging to see the leaders of two of the world’s largest emitters, China and Russia, decline to even attend the proceedings,” he said.