sort of case for the namibian government with the president hog who too was implicated in the scandal issuing statements denying any involvement this is just one of 20 high profile cases the maybe is anti corruption commission is reportedly investigating who it's been adjourned and those accused remain in custody until the next court appearance in may. let's take you through some of the headlines now u.s. president joe biden has pledged to consummate because greenhouse gas emissions by more than half by 2030 he made the announcement at the opening of a virtual white house climate summit that's brought together leaders from 14 nations it's all in an effort to speed up global efforts and avert a looming crisis by maintaining those investments and putting these people to work the united states sets out on the road to cut greenhouse gases in half and half by

the end of this decade that's where we're headed as a nation and that's all we can do if we take action to build an economy that's not only more prosperous but healthy fair and cleaner for the entire planet you know these steps will set america on a path to 0 emissions economy by no later than 2050 but the church this america represents less than 50 percent of the world's admissions no nation can solve this crisis on our own as i know you all fully understand all of us all of us and particularly those of us who represent the world's largest economies we have to step up. russia has ordered its armed forces to withdraw from a shared border with ukraine crane says it's now monitoring the situation in the eastern regions closely tensions have been rising between the 2 countries after moscow amassed tens of thousands of troops on its border with ukraine india has

reported the world's largest daily increase in corona virus infections since the start of the pandemic more than 314000 new cases were registered many hospitals are warning the dangerously low on oxygen days after former police officer derek shore was found guilty of murdering george floyd the funeral of another black man killed at the hands of u.s. police started in there by a neighborhood in minneapolis an officer shot and killed 20 year old dante right earlier this month during a traffic stop in brooklyn center friends and family of right along with several civil rights leaders attended a public viewing on wednesday it's inside story now stay with us.

make the climate great again u.s. president joe biden urges 40 world leaders to commit to cutting emissions so can he restore america's credibility on the climate crisis and will the summit lead to action this is inside story. hello and welcome to the program. america is back to lead the fight against climate change that's the earth day message from u.s. president joe biden he hopes to restore america's global credibility after his predecessor donald trump spent the last 4 years denying the devastating effects of a warming planet biden is hosting

a 2 day virtual summit with 40 of the world's biggest polluters china is promising to be carbon neutral by 2060 while biden pledged to haue u.s. emissions by 2030 based on 2005 levels he wants other nations to make equally steep cuts the church this record represents less than 50 percent of the world's admissions no nation can solve this crisis on our own as i know you all fully understand all of us all of us and particularly those of us who represent the world's largest economies we have to step up you know those that do take action and make bold investments in their people in clean energy future well when the good jobs of tomorrow that make their economies more resilient and more competitive. nick clarke explains what's at stake this virtual summit is the us administration saying we're back in the fight after 4 years of donald trump ignoring the climate crisis for the world leaders have been invited including those nations responsible

for 80 percent of global emissions and as you can see the top of that list is china and then the united states itself the 2 world's biggest polluters and together they account for nearly half of the world's emissions and that's why i joe biden special envoy for climate change john kerry was recently in china seeking an apparently getting a commitment to cooperate from chinese leaders but he knows much more is required at a moment ago no one nation no one nation can can make the difference here if try to went to 0 tomorrow we still have a problem unless the other nations are also reducing but the point of the paris agreement was everybody accepted the goal so the summits aim is to delve in eyes nations much greater ambition ahead of a crucial un climate conference in glasgow in november to limit warming to one and a half degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels remember right now we're already

at $1.00 degrees celsius and the effects of even that have been catastrophic from ice melt to wildfires to droughts and floods to local swarms and super storms costing billions displacing millions up until this week national commitments to cut c o 2 have pointed to a reduction in global emissions of just one percent by 2030 the experts say we need a reduction of at least 40 percent by that time the world is banking once again on u.s. leadership. here's what some other nations committed to this week before the summit the u.k. is aiming to slash carbon emissions by 78 percent before 2035 the european union pass a new law for a 55 percent reduction by the end of the decade some scientists argue these targets may not be enough the un's world meteorological organization says last year was the hottest on record.

all right let's bring in our guests in exit or new hampshire in the u.s. michael dorsey co-founder of the sunrise movement and former e.p.a. national advisory committee member in cape town solution i do senior research associate at the institute for global dialogue and in new delhi. c.e.o. of i for is the international forum for environment stain ability and technology a warm welcome to you all michael let me start with you today u.s. president joe biden is trying to reassert america's climate leadership with this summit considering how donald trump had pulled out of the paris agreement how much of a credibility gap does the u.s. have right now on this issue. look the president has indeed reinserted the us into the multilateral climate context and negotiations going forward i think really it's not an issue of credibility it's an issue of delivering that scale and being really fast moving that's something that i think we can expect from an administration

that's trying to center climate and environment across all agencies at the u.s. administration level but we really have got to accelerate the commitment to increasing our you know our reduction in emissions is going to be something that we've got to push forward we've got to hold this administration accountable to deliver on that we've got to do it also in a way that pays respect to environmental justice and moves resources to those on the margins of society those that we know been harmed in a being harmed 1st and most by the unfolding climate crisis center the u.s. and china are at loggerheads when it comes to so many issues i mean there is so much diplomatic tension between both countries right now and it wasn't clear until almost last minute if president xi jinping was actually going to be participating in this earth day summit how important is it that both the u.s. and china are going to be involved. day mahomet and to my fellow panelists i think is bay in port and both the optics in terms of understanding that this issue is

a non-negotiable issue i think as we noted in the insert that no one country as president biden had indicated can go it alone so i think both for president biden and for president xi jinping it is not just about of photo op but it's about the fact that both have recognized how important this issue is in going forward and the fact of the matter is that time has been lost and the time that has been lost in terms of delivery in terms of implementation of action and you know going forward on deliberating and with you getting the risks around to change and adaptations to energies has actually cost us a lot so i think in that context is very important in terms of recognizing that climate change represents more than just about 2 countries coming together but it's about the global governance arena the multilateralism it's about action in terms of going forward but of course this does not suggest that all the other issues that have underpinned their relationship the tensions the conflict the undercurrents around issues our human rights the trade and questions around security in the in

the asia pacific go away so this is one part 11 side of the mirror but the other side of the mirror still remains chandra from your vantage point i mean let me ask you a version of the same question how essential is it right now that the world's 2 top polluters china and us remain on the same page when it comes to combating climate change going forward very important. we are talking about solving 50 percent of climate mitigation challenge if the u.s. and china comes together horton dumps of current emission and historical emissions so it is going in that us is ambitious and i am very happy that u.s. has announced 50 percent cut in emissions and china has to be more ambitious than what it has announced so far jana is talking about an exit off going to $68.00 but i think it is 60 is the ear right now because of the cut in technology that is

available and i think that that can be you know enhanced significantly demolitions can be increased significantly get more technology and efficient technology really able to acknowledge coming into the market so it is very important for us china in fact it is important for g 20 which accounts for 80 percent of the global pollution to come together and address this issue i just want to add another point behind what that for us it is not only action but also credibility is important in 30 years what you will damage is negotiation u.s. has walked a great price. gibber to go as well as from tibet is a good mentality john's administration and by doing it have to convince the world that it doesn't happen again and therefore what did the u.s. government snooping have to be insurance in their ballistically law so that the next president doesn't walk away so i don't it's a question of delivery action but also a very important is the fact of credibility us despite our last few months of biden

administration did is it credibility credibility as far as climate change is going soon got us michael it was just earlier this week that a un report said the 2020 was one of the 3 hottest years on record and then u.n. secretary general antonio good terrorists said that we are on the verge of the a bit i mean this warning could not be more stark but it seems like we keep hearing more dire warnings all the time from officials around the world and that nothing really substantially changes is it realistic to imagine the things could actually change now that action could be taken. well look you know it's important to understand the extent of the unfolding climate crisis and so we can't mince words and we've got to be really honest it is indeed a climate crisis so i think it's important to understand those things from

secretary-general of the un and so forth the reality is that many things are changing and have changed just last year the last quarter of last year we crossed a new special and humanity that perhaps many of your viewers and listeners didn't notice we came into a world where the cheapest way to generate electricity was with and will be with renewables and that's going to stay the case going forward that's a huge shoes change and how we can produce and deliver energy and that speaks to our ability to deliver on that 50 percent commitment which we know i think it's fair to say when governments announce a commitment we can say it's a conservative commitment so while it is important that the president united states president biden made this commitment to increase reductions to 50 percent we can actually do much much more than that because we have the tools we don't need new technology and we can deliver that clean green future and combat the unfolding climate crisis with renewable energy as well as move resources money in particular to those in the global south to those in marginalized communities in the north so lots of things indeed are changing and will continue to change so now are we at

a stage now where wealthier countries are actually willing to commit to help poorer and less developed countries adapt to climate change. it's it's a difficult thing to say but i think we've got to be if you want to be as honest as we want to i think with climate change there's been this idea that countries need to show what kind of commitment they're going to do at the domestic level and of course the whole question of development finance towards renewable energy towards climate adaptation and mitigation strategies have to come with some kind of geostrategic tag to it i can't help but. explore and try and be more honest about the fact that at the summit that we're looking at over the next 2 days i'm more interested as well in terms of what kind of implicit conditionalities may accompany some of the financing for climate change adaptation strategies and the kind of commercial deals that they accompany this where it opens up the markets

in african countries and developing countries which are more vulnerable and don't have the resources around a renewable energy and so forth to then become susceptible to companies that come in and start taking control of the energy sources and i think this is where some of the debates around the issue of climate crisis and financing for development around climategate and strategies and adaptation has to be had because we know that the whole question of overseas development assistance has been shifting in a negative trend we know that all of the countries have not reached a 0.7 percent of g.n.p. but this now means that we are opening up another avenue in terms of that just about what does what does this mean for the wealthy countries but what does it mean for folks for poor poorer countries where they are sitting with incredible impacts and vulnerability because their companies are exploiting their natural resources

and so forth and i think at this point in time i just want to add another point and that is the amount of money that lives africa in illicit financial flows i think if that money is plugged and if the g 20 is really serious about it. then that money doesn't we don't need the rich countries to support the flat earth financing for developing for climate change in africa support the mitigations that is we have the body as a net exporter of capital chander it often feels like the valid thing countries are largely kept out of the main conversation when it comes to climate change are developed and developing countries starting to work together more it's only days right now the discourse act human framework convention on climate change you enter triple c. has not been easy between developed and developing countries and in fact i think it has gone over the last 3 decades with a lot of distrust shifted shifting the goalposts broken promises it does look and

that's and technology so i don't think that there we are in a few months we have achieved the goal of putting together i think it's a good beginning but it will require a lot of just building and a corporation between countries on time edition it's been developed and developing countries moment i want to add here on the issue of finance i think. developing countries don't need the kind of finance that people are talking about as my previous panelists very clearly explained in terms of africa but also in terms of issue. the fact is that you need a wholesale reforming global financial system today the fact is that the the board wonderbook to you what you bid the maximum for global capital because that interest rate is very a country like bangladesh if it wants to access global captain has to actually pay maybe $4.00 to $5.00 times more interest rate than

a denmark to suit it so i don't the developing countries are not looking good solid a lot of public money on mitigations from developed countries they're looking for technology access and they're looking for much more reforming global financial system so that they can get technology they didn't have money at they wanted to do great to utilize those technologies all of that money will be required it don't believe as it gets and if there are lots and damages because climate change ever started devastate parts of developed and trees their money will be required to. those communities and i think through the cooperation didn't get it wider in the in those 8 years michael i see you nodding along to a lot of what chandra was just talking about did you want to also add your thoughts to what he was saying. you know absolutely i think really the big crux going forward i think it actually is going to hinge on you know moving resources to the

global south but it's going to hinge on putting those resources into renewable energy drene infrastructure things that are going to help us get out of this unfolding climate crisis the fact is that china is been pushing through its built in road initiative into other initiatives to to push fossil fuel infrastructure around the world to meet its own particular needs there's an opportunity not just for the united states not just for the e.u. certainly you know within africa within asia to push back on that commitment that religious commitment to the fossil foolishness of the 20th century and really lean in and put money in behind new technologies renewable energy technologies green technologies that are going to accelerate getting us out of this this this problem of the unfolding climate crisis so that's what we've really got to focus solutions since we're talking more specifically about challenges in particular countries and regions let me just zoom in for a moment about when it comes to south africa i mean what's the situation like there and is it ready for a green revolution i think there esoteric talk about it

a lot in policy circles the government the president i mean he's one of the 5 african country presidents that have been invited to the summit but president biden . but the problem we have all the talent we have is that we still rely on they very energy uprooting code as a big driver of our energy supply and we have serious governance crisis and other crises within the state owned entities that supplies electricity which is quite eskom we have challenges around this in terms of moving away from coal to more the new abode energy except we also have this the whole debate happening and the challenge happening around kind of moving away from the reliance on one single energy producer to now opening up the market to independent power produces i think on this issue we we don't have. the kind of infrastructure going forward it's still needs a lot of resilience it needs a lot of capital it needs

a lot of development finance to move it forward to where it should be in terms of us being ready for a greener economy and a more productive economy around renewable energy and production of energy but having said that as well i think that at the same time i want to reiterate the point made earlier is that within south africa we do have development finance we have money and i think that that point about reforming the way in which access to international development finance has always been has to be also accompanied around these mitigating strategies we talk about when it comes to climate financing strategies or climate financing instruments at the same time i think in terms of africa and china there is the shift in china around looking towards greening of green finance rather and looking towards renewable energy finance in africa so at the one and this whole this whole debate about china and the fossil fuel issue on the other hand if you're looking at the be in certain pockets in africa there's

this question about if china moves towards green energy production and trying to source that energy and opening up that market for itself what does this do for africa who still remains at the fossil food production level chunder what about in india what are the unique challenges there when it comes transitioning to carbon neutrality and is there a viable roadmap in place. i think there is a viable roadmap. for india acting and planning it can also mean it has all been some chronic in modern mental issues from what the coalition to have police in india is also suffering from chronic and in its citizens so i think climate change and and that in modern mental issues of course benefits for india but the fact is that india is growing at a time then number of technologies are becoming much cheaper than the the brown and

black technology the political knowledge that other developed countries in 20th century of today it sold it is the cheapest source of electricity and in fact coal is expensive my estimation is the next few years maybe then you sold coal and have better accord and you build it to back treatments up likely force and electricity at a much cheaper rate than what coal does however having said that it does it at the system is 70 percent inland and corns on one hand by the need to do energy transition on the other hand we also have to adjust on fission which means that how do we get a large number of people who are working in close sector so we also have to develop its simultaneous roadmap on just transition out of these people change they have given better job they commonly is made made more diversified and resilient so the debate and we did asian must also be battled by you debate on just foundation for a country like india and i think there is a suit spock's what india and my guess is that even though i'm not an agnostic

india is going to announce anything big at the biden summit but before glasgow india get an ounce best and vicious dog it and then what it has right now michael we're hearing a lot of very ambitious plans right now the u.s. says it aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in a half by 2030 china has pledged to become carbon neutral by 26th the e.u. has announced a new target which would be a 55 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 is all of this achievable. and syria and did not only is it achievable much more is possible we're in a world again where the cheapest way to generate energy is now renewable energy renewable generation with when water and sun so that being the case we can actually go beyond these government targets and be much more ambitious and much more you know fit for purpose and scale it at getting us out of this unfolding crisis i think the reality is that some of the challenges that the other just because i've

mentioned terms of utilities standing in the way of the process in the build out of nobles in south africa that's actually mirrored in the united states of many utilities at a slow walking renewables and the build out of unknowables just transition problem that we have there in india we see that across united states but the fact is in some places take the state of texas for example in us you've got more people working in the renewable sector already today right now than there are in oil and gas and that's only going to continue to increase so we can actually be much more ambitious than what the current president is calling for and that's a good thing so there's no we don't have a whole lot of time left let me just ask you this i'm going to excess ask you to expand a little bit on what michael is saying how can countries from your perspective better invest in renewables and provide energy access for the poor. well i think they can definitely start doing a lot of the financing towards renewable energy in terms of helping individuals in particular community sectors except i think the point about just transition and the fact that employment in the coal sector needs to transition to 2 more the new but

energy employment is one area i think in south africa we are seeing people on the ground communities except for engaging in their own forms of renewable energy not for not necessarily only using the kind of coal production or the coal sources of energy because they understand as well in terms of their own human experience as a what this means but again it's also important that we have the kind of right policy mix with the private sector also coming in and supporting that that policy instrument with government and of course engaging in terms of community based initiatives which means we have to start thinking about particularly in large urban sprawl olds that but that's the role of the proof of incentives in south africa china we only have about a minute left let me just ask you quickly one of the big concerns right now of course is deforestation is there anything that world leaders can do at this summit to to pressure brazil to do more to crack down on deforestation in the amazon

region. oh mama i think be that have to look at the photo station desertification and agriculture together there is a sweet spot dead bolt on all t. trying to look and we have a global macand ism right now we have separate legal mechanism for people the station on line and followed as education we need to bring all of them together but do not have resource was at the end of the day deforestation is also about income and employment and we have to provide alternative which is much more effective than what what what is there that the fire station i just want to make last point i'm $100.00 i'm just i'm done playing chandra i'm sorry to interrupt you but we are out of time so we're going to have to end the conversation there but thank you so much to you and to all of our guests michael dorsey solution i do and chandrababu shop and thank you too for watching you can see this and all of our previous programs again any time by visiting our website al-jazeera dot com and for further discussion go to our facebook page that's facebook dot com forward slash a.j.

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this is al jazeera. hello i'm sam he's a band this is the news hour live from doha coming up in the next 60 minutes a moral and economic imperative world leaders discuss ambitious targets at a summit to tackle global warming. the united states sets out on the road to cut greenhouse gases in half and half by the end of.