The Biden Administration’s Climate Crisis Policy as Seen at the Leaders Summit on Climate

Starting from his election campaign, U.S. President Joseph Biden has shown a proactive stance on responding to climate change and pledged to establish American leadership on the issue through the hosting of a Leaders Summit on Climate. During the summit, heads of state affirmed their commitments to responding to climate change and shared ideas on cooperative action, including setting higher targets for greenhouse gas reductions and expanding the emissions trading system. At the summit the U.S. indicated its firm commitment to assuming leadership in response toward climate change, while alluding to changes to its relationship with China vis-à-vis the issue. Korea too must transform its economic and industrial structure to actively respond to climate change while pursuing a full-scale green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. This analytical brief summarizes the events of the Leaders Summit on Climate and the climate-related policies and pledges of summit attendees and other major countries. It also proposes a set of recommendations for the Korean response to the climate crisis.