Netherlands welcomes US return to the climate change debate

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has warned failure to act now on climate change could push millions of people in the developing world into poverty by 2030.

Rutte was hosting a two-day virtual summit seeking to galvanise more action and funding to adapt current infrastructure to climate change.

The meeting aimed to produce an agenda for dealing with effects such as rising sea levels, extreme weather and crop failure.

The United States also joined the discussion for the first time since the country rejoined the Paris Climate Accord following last week’s inauguration of Joe Biden.

US Climate Envoy John Kerry echoed Rutte’s words by calling on world leaders to take urgent action to build resilience to the devastating effects of climate change.

“President Biden knows that we have to mobilise in unprecedented ways to meet a challenge that is fast accelerating,” he said. “And he knows we have limited time to get it under control.”

Marcel Beukeboom is climate envoy for The Netherlands.

He says it’s good to see Washington once again taking part in the discussion on climate change.

“John Kerry speaks directly to government leaders because of who he is and the experience he has,” said Beukeboom. “And that’s very important as it means climate is elevated to the highest political level, not only in the US but globally.”

Watch the full interview with Beukeboom in the video player, above.