SHARM EL SHEIKH (November 11, 2022) - Today, President Joe Biden addressed the delegates at COP27, where he announced new initiatives to strengthen U.S. leadership tackling the climate crisis and galvanize global action and commitments.

Following is a statement from Ani Dasgupta, President and CEO, World Resources Institute:

“President Biden is pulling nearly every lever available to him to deliver bold climate action at home. From securing hundreds of billions of dollars in climate investments through the Inflation Reduction Act and reining in methane emissions to requiring all large federal contractors to set science-based emissions reduction targets, President Biden is advancing the boldest climate agenda of any American president by far. 

“The additional measures that President Biden announced today in Egypt to boost adaptation efforts and accelerate a clean energy transition in developing countries are important steps forward. The United States deserves high marks for rallying over 130 countries behind the Global Methane Pledge, which will ramp up action to curb one of the most potent greenhouse gases that are warming our planet and putting lives and livelihoods at risk. 

“President Biden’s ambitious actions at home now need to be matched by equally robust investments to advance climate action abroad. The inconvenient truth is that the United States is grossly underperforming on its international climate finance commitments. While the Biden administration has consistently reiterated its $11.4 billion annual climate pledge, U.S. officials have yet to outline a credible pathway to deliver on that promise. Despite headwinds, President Biden and members of the U.S. Congress must work in haste to get the country’s international climate finance commitments on track.

“At COP27, developing country negotiators are also eager to get more reassurance that the United States will throw its weight behind creating a collective funding stream to help them recover from devastating losses from climate disasters. If the United States continues to resist real progress on financing for loss and damage it could put the entire proceedings of this climate summit in jeopardy.”