Within the context of International Mother Earth Day, President Alberto Fernández attended the “Leaders Summit on Climate”, having been invited by United States President Joe Biden and during which he reaffirmed Argentina’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and set ambitious goals to tackle climate change.
Biden invited the Argentine President to take part in the event with a view to bringing together the Heads of State that show strong leadership with regard to climate change.
The U.S. President, Vice-president Kamala Harris and UN Secretary General António Guterres delivered the opening speeches at the Summit.
The Summit was also attended by the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel; the Prime Ministers of India, Narendra Modi; Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu; Italy, Mario Draghi; Japan, Yoshihide Suga; Spain, Pedro Sánchez; and the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, among others.
“Argentina has put climate and environmental action at the centre of its convictions,” President Fernández stated from the Presidential Residence in Olivos, where he was joined by Foreign Minister Felipe Solá and the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Juan Cabandié.
Echoing the remarks made by Pope Francis, who was also a speaker at the Summit, he stated that in order to achieve an equitable transition to a low-carbon economy it is necessary to “start with those at the bottom to reach everyone,” and called for a “renewal of the international financial architecture.”
“Argentina honours the Paris Agreement by increasing climate ambition,” Fernández stated as he announced that Argentina assumes the commitment to “develop 30% of its energy matrix with renewable energies," promote “efficiency measures for industry, transportation, and construction” and promote a fast discussion of the Federal Environmental Education Law in Congress.
Other speakers at the Summit included the Presidents of China, Xi Jinping; France, Emmanuel Macron; Poland, Andrzej Duda; the Republic of Korea, Moon Jae-in; Russia, Vladimir Putin; South Africa, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa; and Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
From Latin America, the Presidents of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro; Chile, Sebastián Piñera; Colombia, Iván Duque Márquez; and Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador participated in the event along with the Argentine Head of State.
