WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden, who has recently been focused on boosting oil production to reduce rising gas costs, will turn his attention to climate change on Friday when he convenes a virtual meeting of some of the world’s biggest economies.
Among the participants will be China, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Also present will be Egypt, which is hosting the next United Nations summit on climate change, and the U.N. secretary general, António Guterres.
The conference is known as the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, and it began under President Barack Obama in 2009.
The White House said the meeting is a “continuation of the president’s efforts to use all levers to tackle the global climate crisis.” Senior administration officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly before the event, said Biden would use the opportunity to prod his counterparts to adopt additional efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Among the priorities are slashing methane leaks and getting more zero-emission vehicles on the roads.
The officials said they expect some of the countries to announce more ambitious climate targets as part of the landmark agreement reached in Paris in 2015.
But the Russian invasion of Ukraine has scrambled Biden’s climate goals by driving up the cost of gasoline. Facing political pressure to get prices under control in a midterm election year, the Democratic president has urged U.S. oil refiners to produce more fuel.
Biden also is also expected to visit Saudi Arabia next month. The White House recently praised the kingdom after OPEC+ announced that it would pump more oil to boost the global supply.