Climate chaos as Russia, China dodge calls to reduce coal, carbon emissions

China and Russia failed to commit to hard deals on climate initiatives

As global leaders flew into Scotland on a parade of private jets from around the world for the United Nations climate change conference COP26, billed as the world's last best chance' to save the planet from catastrophe, two of the world's biggest players were no-shows. 

President Xi Jinping didn't bother to attend and Russian President Vladimir Putin attended by video conference, claiming that Russia is living up to its previous climate commitments, even though there were based on an economy that was still devastated by the fall of the Soviet Union, so they are a mere drop in the atmosphere of what would be required based upon their current economic state. 

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"About the disappointment, the disappointment relates to the fact that not only Russia but China didn’t show up in terms of any commitments to deal with climate change, and there’s a reason why people should be disappointed in that. I found it disappointing myself," President Biden said.

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Biden is also disappointed with Saudi Arabia and the other OPEC members because the group has rebuffed his calls to increase production sending oil prices to seven-year highs. 

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Yet President Biden is trying to make commitments to try to impress the world after apologizing for President Trump's dumping the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord.

He said that the U.S. will reduce carbon emissions by 50%-52% below 2005 levels by 2030 and "will demonstrate to the world" that the U.S. is "not only back at the table" but will "hopefully lead by the massive power of our example." 

Biden also promised things he may not be able to deliver, such as his "Build Back Better" infrastructure bill that may never pass and includes $320 billion for clean energy tax credits, $105 billion for resilience investments, $110 billion for clean energy technology, manufacturing, and supply chain investments and incentives, and $20 billion for clean energy procurement at a total of $555 billion. 

He also pledged more taxpayer money to support poor countries with their climate goals which I assume includes India and China, which are not close to giving up on coal as quickly as the Paris Accord members want. 

The bottom line is that Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia and the rest of the OPEC cartel are playing climate poker with President Biden and so far they are winning. 

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Phil Flynn is senior energy analyst at The PRICE Futures Group and a FOX Business Network contributor. He is one of the world's leading market analysts, providing individual investors, professional traders, and institutions with up-to-the-minute investment and risk management insight into global petroleum, gasoline, and energy markets. His precise and timely forecasts have come to be in great demand by industry and media worldwide and his impressive career goes back almost three decades, gaining attention with his market calls and energetic personality as writer of The Energy Report. You can contact Phil by phone at (888) 264-5665 or by email at pflynn@pricegroup.com.