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(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden’s climate summit has drawn 40 heads of state including China’s Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Boris Johnson from the U.K. The two-day virtual event kicks off Thursday and will also include corporate executives, union heads, Pope Francis and Bill Gates.The stakes are high. While Biden is seeking to reestablish the U.S. as a major player on the climate stage, he’s facing skepticism from other nations after President Donald Trump reversed key environmental policies. Meanwhile, the world has dealt with widespread drought, extreme weather, record wildfires and other catastrophic events over the last several years.“The planet is really in a bad place,” John Kerry, U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, said at an event Tuesday hosted by Ocean Conservancy.Click here to see schedule of events for two-day summitAll time stamps are New York time.No Major New Pledges From Xi, Modi at Climate Summit (8:45 a.m.)China’s Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi of India led off the summit by stressing the urgent need for global collaboration to fight climate change, but without announcing any new major goals for curbing emissions.Xi reiterated China’s plans to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and to attain net-zero status by 2060. He also pledged to reduce coal consumption between 2026 and 2030. “We must be committed to green development. Green mountains are gold mountains, to protect environment is o protect productivity,” Xi said.Modi stressed India’s ongoing efforts to install 450 gigawatts of clean energy -- policies that the two nations already have in place.Biden has said that a key goal of this summit is to encourage nations to increase their ambitions toward fighting climate change. The U.S. announced its new, bigger target for curbing emissions Thursday. Japan did as well, and Canada announced a new goal Monday.But China, the world’s biggest emitter, and India, the third-largest source of greenhouse gases, are sticking with their current plans, even after visits in recent weeks from Biden’s climate envoy John Kerry, a development that climate advocates may see as a setback for Biden.UN Chief Calls on Nations to Submit New, Ambitious Plans: 8:37 a.m.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on countries, especially major emitters, to submit new and more ambitious plans laying out actions and policies that will align the next 10 years with a “2050 net-zero pathway.”To build a truly global net zero coalition, Guterres said the world needs a breakthrough on finance and adaptation. He called on developed countries to deliver on their pledges to boost public climate finance by coming to the G7 in June with a plan to deliver on a $100 billion climate action fund for developing countries.“Let us mobilize political leadership to move ahead together – to overcome climate change, end our war on nature and build lives of dignity and prosperity for all,” Guterres said.Carbon Price Hits Record in EU Before Summit: 7:24 a.m.A surge in the world’s largest carbon market reflects the cost of polluting for industry just as world leaders prepare for a crucial climate gathering hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden.Prices in the European Union’s emissions trading system has broken records every day this week as European lawmakers reached a deal on stricter pollution targets and investors got a glimpse of how the bloc will set green standards in the future.Japan Pledges Stricter Emissions Target: 5:49 a.m.Japan will strengthen its 2030 emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement, amid an effort to become carbon neutral by the middle of the century.The country aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 46% by 2030 compared with 2013, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Thursday ahead of the global climate summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. Japan had previously targeted a 26% reduction.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
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