Headline Roundup • November 1st, 2021
World Leaders Meet for UN Climate Summit
Climate Change,World,COP26,United Nations,Joe Biden,Sustainability,Paris Climate Accord,Boris Johnson,Narendra Modi,Xi Jinping,Vladimir Putin
Summary from the AllSides News Team
More than 100 world leaders met in Glasgow, Scotland on Monday for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26. In his speech to the summit, President Joe Biden apologized for former President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord. “I shouldn’t apologize, but I do apologize for the fact the United States, the last administration, pulled out of the Paris Accords and put us sort of behind the eight ball a little bit,” Biden said. Other Monday speakers included German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Along with leaders from Turkey, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the summit.
Coverage was widespread but split on Monday. Right-rated outlets tended to focus on Biden appearing to fall asleep at the summit. Left- and center-rated outlets tended to focus on statements from world leaders, particularly Biden’s apology.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Christopher Furlong/Pool via AP
World leaders turned up the heat and resorted to end-of-the-world rhetoric Monday in an attempt to bring new urgency to sputtering international climate negotiations.
The metaphors were dramatic and mixed at the start of the talks, known as COP26. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described global warming as “a doomsday device” strapped to humanity. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told his colleagues that humans are “digging our own graves.” And Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, speaking for vulnerable island nations, added moral thunder, warning leaders not to “allow the path of greed...
Kevin Lamarque/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Addressing his fellow world leaders at the COP26 climate summit, President Biden apologized for former President Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord.
Why it matters: Biden is trying to rally more ambitious climate action at the crucial summit in Glasgow, and he elected to acknowledge the elephant in the room — that it's no sure thing that the only country in the world to withdraw from Paris will be embraced as a moral leader on climate.
What he's saying: "I guess I shouldn't apologize, but I do...
Screenshot via YouTube
Surrounded by foreign leaders, President Biden appeared to doze off while listening to the opening speeches at Monday’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26.
Elected at 78-years-old, Biden is the oldest U.S. president in history. Critics, including some elected Republicans, have raised concerns about his frequent rhetorical missteps and refusal to engage with the press outside of taking questions from pre-approved reporters. In a video of the event, Biden can be seen closing his eyes for an extended period of time as one of the invited speakers addressed the crowd,...
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