U.S. must halve emissions to galvanize global climate action - UN chief

(Reuters, 19 Apr 2021) U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres says that if the U.S. sets the bar high for its own emissions cuts, it will put pressure on other countries to do the same.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres wants the United States to commit this week to at least halving its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 -- a move he said could unlock similar action from the world's other large emitters.

The United States, the world's biggest economy and second-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases behind China, will host a virtual climate change summit on April 22-23. Washington has urged world leaders to use the event as an opportunity to pledge more ambitious emissions cuts.

Guterres said the White House's own pledge needed to set the bar high.

"My expectation is that the United States will be able to present a reduction of emissions for 2030, in relation to 2010 levels, above 50%," Guterres told Reuters in an interview.

"If it happens, I have no doubt that it will have very important consequences in relation to Japan, in relation to China, in relation to Russia -- in relation to other areas of the world that have not yet entirely defined these levels," he said.

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Reuters, 19 Apr 2021: U.S. must halve emissions to galvanize global climate action - UN chief