Obama Critical of China and Russia’s ‘Dangerous Lack of Urgency’ in Climate Change at COP26; World Still ‘Falls Short’ of Progress

Former US President Barack Obama speaking at COP26

 

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Former US President Barack Obama openly criticized two of the world’s largest CO2 emitting countries – Russia and China, for their “dangerous lack of urgency” in discussing the pressing matters of climate change this past week during COP26.

Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to make an appearance with other global leaders at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, which Obama found to be “particularly discouraging,” as he addressed a room of climate experts at the event this Monday.

“We need advanced economies like the US and Europe leading on [the issue of climate change]. But we also need China and India, we need Russia, just as we need Indonesia and South Africa and Brazil leading on this issue. We can’t afford anybody to be on the sidelines.”

Obama noted that while there has been some progress made in the six years since the Paris Agreement, the legally binding international treaty on climate change, the world still falls short of their commitment of limiting global warming to well below 1.5 C.

“Here in Glasgow we see the promise of further progress. What is also true is that collectively and individually, we are still falling short. We have not done nearly enough to address this crisis.”

“We are going to have to do more and whether that happens or not to a large degree is going to depend on you,” said Obama, calling for collective action from young people and politicians alike to take climate change seriously.

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