The Latest: Biden administration opens global climate summit

The Biden administration has opened a global climate summit including 40 world leaders

South Korea Earth Day

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The Latest on President Joe Biden s global climate summit (all times local):

8 a.m.

The Biden administration has opened a global climate summit including 40 world leaders.

Biden recently announced a pledge to cut at least in half the climate-wrecking coal and petroleum fumes that the U.S. pumps out. That's a commitment Biden hopes will spur China and other big polluters to speed up efforts of their own.

Former Vice President Al Gore praised the pledge on Thursday, saying, “Today President Biden showed that his administration is up to the task of tackling climate change.”

Japan also announced a new target, pledging to cut its emissions 46% below 2013 levels by 2030.

The two-day summit will include China’s Xi Jinping Russia’s Vladimir Putin and the Pope and will be livestreamed.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE GLOBAL CLIMATE SUMMIT:

President Joe Biden is opening a global climate summit with a pledge to cut at least in half the climate-wrecking coal and petroleum fumes that the U.S. pumps out, a commitment he hopes will spur China and other big polluters to speed up efforts of their own.

Read more:

— What to Watch: In Biden climate show, look for cajoling, conflict, pathos