By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL- On the closing day of the G20 summit in Rome, Prince Charles warned a bevy of world leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden that COP26, the UN climate conference in Scotland is the last chance to save Earth from the devastation of climate change. The Prince commented: “As the future of humanity and nature herself are at stake, it is surely time to set aside our differences and grasp this unique opportunity to launch a sustainable green recovery.” Prince Charles who is scheduled to speak at COP26 as well as Biden -came as G-20 leaders are preparing to hold talks on the role of the private sector in combating climate change and on the necessity for sustainable development.
The G-20 countries represent over three-quarters of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions are seeking common ground on how emissions might be reduced while helping poor countries deal with the impact of increasing temperatures. The U.S. president has put climate change front and center on his administration’s agenda and said that a deal between the U.S. and the European Union that would relax tariffs on aluminum and steel will also assist in fighting climate change. The tariffs, imposed by former U.S. President Trump, have been a contentious point between the U.S. and European allies.
The agreement that was announced on Saturday, calls for the U.S. to allow some European steel and aluminum to enter the country tariff-free. Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke at a joint press conference on Sunday that the agreement will also include climate change points by discouraging steel and aluminum production that generates high levels of carbon emissions. Biden said the agreement would restrict access to “dirty steel” from regions like China. The U.S. President said: “We can reject the false idea that we can’t grow our economy and support American workers while tackling the climate crisis.” He added: “We can do all three of those things. We can and we must do both.”
