President Joe Biden departed Egypt after only three hours Friday, leaving as many questions behind as there were when he arrived. Speaking to a packed audience at the United Nations climate summit, the president said the United States is preparing a “relentless” crackdown on planet-warming emissions from oil and gas production, and he announced a new rulemaking to eradicate leaks of methane, one of the most powerful climate pollutants. He touted the legislative and regulatory efforts his administration has made to curb climate emissions, and he declared the country would meet its reduction targets. “My commitment to this issue has been unwavering,” Biden said. “The United States of America will meet our emission targets by 2030.” But he didn’t answer the hard question delegates have been wrestling with all week about whether and how the United States (along with other wealthy nations) will provide the many billions of dollars that developing countries need to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Many developing nations that have contributed relatively little atmospheric greenhouse gases are already bearing the brunt of climate change impacts, from turbocharged hurricanes and coastal erosion to massive floods and drought. This frustrated some attendees in Egypt, who say the U.S. has not put forward its fair share of financial support to help developing nations transition to greener energy sources. Biden had pledged $11.4 billion in international climate finance by 2024, but Democrats approved only $1 billion in March. Moving new money through Congress already must get past Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and could prove increasingly difficult if Republicans take control of one or both chambers. While the GOP was projected to easily win the House, Democrats aren’t out of the race yet. And the Senate is still up for grabs . The real-world problem at the root of all this climate wrangling is only getting worse. Global carbon emissions have reached record-high levels, and a report from the Global Carbon Project released today found there is a 50-50 chance the world will pass the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold in nine years. Privately, climate scientists believe keeping temperatures below 1.5 C is no longer realistic.
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