Biden Condemns China, Russia Leaders For Not Attending Climate Summit

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

(Worthy News) – Embattled U.S. President Joe Biden has condemned leaders of China and Russia for not attending the COP26 climate change summit.

Biden spoke at the 26th annual meeting of ‘The Conference of the Parties’ or COP, the main body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It’s made up of delegates from each country that signed the Paris Agreement and meets every year.

Biden claimed the climate was “a gigantic issue” and China “walked away” – adding it was the “same thing with Russia and Putin.”

Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor Chinese leader Xi Jinping bothered to participate in the summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

China, the world’s largest polluter, and Russia only sent lower-level delegations to the talks, which are due to run for two weeks until November 14.

The boycott comes though China is the world’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, followed by the U.S., critics say. Russia is the fifth-largest after the European Union and India.

Biden was among more than 120 leaders turning up at the conference in Scotland’s largest city.

He had hoped to get a colossal spending “green” bill approved ahead of the summit. But with his popularity plunging in the polls, conservatives and critics within his party balked at the eye-watering $555 billion price tag for “clean energy credits” and incentives.

It would be the most significant investment in American history to tackle what Biden believes is human-caused global warming.

Yet the bill’s key proposal to reward energy companies for moving away from fossil fuels and penalizing those who don’t – was blocked by the Democratic senator from West Virginia coal country, Joe Manchin.

While Biden closed drilling and pipeline projects at home, he is now forced to persuade overseas OPEC oil producers to increase production to keep petrol prices down for US consumers.

American drivers are furious that they’re facing over $3 a gallon, which is up to three times less than many of their European counterparts have to pay.

Biden’s failure to make progress on his legislation has been frustrating for the White House, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The Biden administration sought to pass the measures through Congress before Air Force One landed in Europe to pressure other leaders to introduce similar policies.

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