PRESIDENT Joe Biden and leaders of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) are working to strengthen energy security and tackle the climate crisis.
A factsheet release by the White House on Friday said the move became more urgent following Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine, “which has disrupted energy markets, strained economies with rising prices, and threatened vulnerable countries with severe food shortages”.
The factsheet said: “At today’s meeting, President Biden’s third MEF convening since taking office, world leaders will raise ambitions and followed the United States leadership, joining new efforts and initiatives aimed at tackling the climate crisis while advancing energy-security and food-security.”
The steps being worked on include tackling methane leaks from the oil and gas sector, putting more zero-emission vehicles on the road and decarbonising ocean-based shipping, speeding the commercialisation of new technologies and increasing fertiliser efficiency and reducing agriculture emissions while bolstering global food security.
“The major economies that compose the MEF together account for roughly 80 percent of global GDP and global greenhouse gas emissions. Leader-level MEF meetings convened by President Biden in April and September 2021 contributed to the progress achieved at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP 26), where new commitments and initiatives brought the world much closer to keeping a 1.5-degree Celsius limit on warming within reach,” the factsheet added.
