Biden invites 40 world leaders to climate summit, including Putin and Xi

Agencies | Washington

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

US President Joe Biden has extended invitations to 40 world leaders for an online summit on the climate crisis hosted by his administration next month - with rivals Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China on the guest list.

The White House said on Friday that the summit - scheduled for April 22 and 23 - is intended to underscore the urgency with which the world must act and highlight the economic benefits of going green, dpa reported.

European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson were invited.

So were Saudi King Salman bin Abdelaziz, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The event is to be streamed live on the internet for public viewing.

The US will announce an "ambitious" new 2030 emissions target for the country by the time the summit gets underway, the White House said, part of Washington's new push to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement.

Biden urged other leaders to use the summit as a forum in which to outline their own new, more forceful contributions. The next UN climate conference is in Glasgow, Scotland, in November.