Joe Biden slaps down China and Russia as he jets out of Cop26 in Glasgow
The US President praised the achievements of the climate summit so far
Last updated 3rd Nov 2021
Joe Biden’s left Scotland saying the two days he spent at the Cop26 conference in Glasgow made more progress on climate change than any previous meeting of world leaders.
The US President flew out of Edinburgh Airport last night following a final media conference at the summit venue at the SEC where he said it was important to step up the pace when it came to tackling global warming.
"Glasgow must be the start of a decisive decade of action so that we can keep 1.5 in the region. We have to keep accelerating our progress," he said.
"For our part, the United States is going to keep raising the ambition and delivering a goal that we are reducing US emissions by 50% from the 2005 level by 2030.
"I can't think of any two days more has been accomplished dealing with climate than these past two days."
Joe Biden also said Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin had made a mistake in failing to appear at the Cop26 climate change talks.
"We showed up. By showing up, I think we had a profound impact on the way, I think, the rest of the world is looking at the United States and its leadership," he told a news conference in Glasgow.
"I think it has been a mistake, quite frankly, with respect to China, not showing up.
"They have the lost the ability to influence people around the world and here in Cop. The same way I would argue with Russia."
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Gas guzzling commute
The President flew into Scotland on Monday morning and spent one night at the Dalmahoy Country Club, controversially commuting to the conference in Glasgow in a giant motorcade, with close to a 100 mile round trip each day.
MFR Senior Reporter Bryan Rutherford told us: “Dalmahoy staff will probably be relieved that normality is returning.
“They had to go through full body scanners and even paying guests and golfers had their cars searched everytime they entered the estate.
“Just keeping the site secure has taken 300 secret service agents and police from Scotland and the rest of the UK.
“Hotel insiders say he wasn’t demanding and in fact had modest requests, such as sampling the local produce and he also wanted a high-end espresso coffee, which is certainly handy when you need to stay awake during the conference…”
Other famous faces at Cop26
Prince William at Cop26 Glasgow
Sir David Attenborough speaks at Cop26
While world leaders gathered, other important players in the world market also attended. Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos gave a speech to delegates of the duty to protect the planet and the environment. Bezos also announced that he would put $2 billion (equivalent to £1.5 billion) towards the global effort in land restoration.
Leonardo DiCaprio at Cop26
Leonardo DiCaprio in a UN meeting at Cop26
Former F1 champion Nico Rosberg at COP26 in Glasgow
Stella McCartney and Prince Charles at Kelvingrove sustainable fashion exhibition at Cop26