Biden meets with UN Security Council members to talk climate

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden told the permanent representatives of the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that the United States will join the international body's Group of Friends on Climate and Society.

The group was launched in 2018 with a focus on the impact that national security policy has on climate change.

Biden has vowed that the U.S. will consider climate issues in nearly all policy making and has committed to the U.S. co-operating on multilateral efforts on addressing climate change. That's a marked departure from his predecessor, Donald Trump, who largely ignored scientific consensus about the need for nations to take action to curb rising temperatures.

During the virtual meeting, Biden also urged the security council to take action on several severe crises, including in Myanmar, Ethiopia, Libya, Syria and Yemen.

The president was joined by John Kerry, the White House special envoy on climate, and principal deputy national security adviser Jon Finer. They briefed the council on U.S. priorities regarding climate change and regional security issues.

The Associated Press