COP 26: Joe Biden dissatisfied with the absence of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at COP 26.

China and Russia made a "big mistake" .

It is in these terms that the American president spoke during a speech, concerning the attitude of his two counterparts. Indeed, Joe Biden could not help but sharply criticize the refusal of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin to travel to Glasgow to attend the climate conference in person.

US President Joe Biden accused China and Russia on Tuesday of failing to show leadership on climate change by sharply criticizing their leaders for not attending the COP26 summit in Glasgow. He took the opportunity to highlight his presence and recall that "America is back" , promising that the climate-skeptical attitude of his predecessor, Donald Trump, was no longer in order.

Mr Biden said the climate was "a gigantic problem" and that China was "gone" - adding that it was "the same with Russia and Putin" even though both countries have, well obviously, delegations.

“The fact that China is trying to assert, naturally, a new role in the world as a world leader - don't show up, come on! "Lambasted Biden before an audience of journalists before flying to Glasgow.

“It's just a gigantic problem and they are gone. How do you do that and claim to be able to have leadership? » He added.

“It was a big mistake, quite frankly, for China not to show up. The rest of the world looked at China and said 'what value are they bringing? "He added.

The Chinese president, who heads the world's largest emitter of carbon emissions responsible for climate change, has not traveled outside of China since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020.

Biden was even more scathing about Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is traveling and met the US president in Geneva in June. Russia is the world's fourth largest emitter.

“His tundra is burning - literally, the tundra is burning. He has serious climate problems, and he is silent on the actions he intends to implement, ” he said.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave no reason why the Russian leader would not be present when the decision was announced in October , although he said climate change was a "top" priority. for Russia.

In September, Xi Jinping announced that China would aim for carbon neutrality by 2060 , with a plan to reach peak emissions by 2030. The recent decisions of the Chinese government on environmental matters are entitled to give birth to doubts.

President Putin, meanwhile, said Russia will also strive to achieve carbon neutrality "no later than 2060" in a speech at an international energy forum on October 13.

That is to say in 40 years ...