Joe Biden Addresses the United Nations General Assembly
At the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, President Biden outlined how the United States has opened an era of relentless diplomacy to address the challenges that matter most to people’s lives. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz).
President Biden took the podium in New York to discuss the war in Ukraine, climate change, and the importance of having a unified body like the UN in the world today.
Article by Tommy Lynch, White House Reporter
NEW YORK - The 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on September 13th. President Joe Biden addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, September 21st.
Biden began his speech with a clear declaration against Russian president Vladimir Putin and his war against Ukraine.
“A war was chosen by one man, to be very blunt.” Biden said, “No one threatened Russia, and no one other than Russia sought conflict.”
Russia first attacked Ukraine back in February, claiming they needed to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine, although there are no connections to Nazism and Ukraine. The war has led to over 14,000 civilian causalities and a refugee crisis in Europe, with over 7.4 million people fleeing the country for safety.
“So we… as members of the United Nations… must be clear, firm, and unwavering in our resolve” Biden said, calling upon the entire assembly to work together.
The United States has sent $25 billion to Ukraine in the form of security, humanitarian, and economic aid. More than 40 other countries represented in the General Assembly have sent billions of dollars in aid as well.
Biden moved on to discuss climate change, and how his administration has worked tirelessly to help minimize the damage being done to our planet.
“We’ve rejoined the Paris Agreement, convened a major climate summit, help deliver critical agreements on the COP26, and we helped get two-thirds of the world GDP on track to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.” Biden said.
Less than one month after Biden had taken the oath of office, the United States had rejoined the Paris Agreement, an international treaty focused on limiting warming to below 2 degrees Celsius. The U.S. had left the Agreement in November 2020 under President Donald Trump.
At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Biden formally apologized for the U.S.’s departure from the Agreement and promised to lead the attack on climate change by example.
On August 16th, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. This $369 billion piece of legislature will help create clean energy jobs, reduce pollution, and drastically lower U.S. emissions.
“My administration is working with our Congress to deliver more than $11 billion a year to international climate finance to help lower-income countries implement their climate goals and ensure a just energy transition.” Said Biden, referring to this investment as his “global responsibility”.
Biden then turned to global health, touching on the 620 million doses of COVID-19 vaccinations that have been administered before discussing the ever-present issue of food insecurity. The U.S. has spent $2.9 billion for this year alone to help the 193 million people facing acute food insecurity.
“No matter what else divides us, if parents cannot feed their children… nothing else matters.” Said Biden.
Biden proceeded to talk about the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, an economic initiative launched last May.
“We’re working with our partners in ASEAN and the Pacific Islands to support a vision for a critical Indo-Pacific region that is free and open, connected and prosperous, secure and resilient.” Biden said.
The Initiative is working to provide fair trade, secure supply chains, clean energy, and anti-corruption acts.
Biden ended his address by discussing the importance of the United Nations as a whole.
“But the United States will be unabashed in promoting our vision of a free, open, secure, and prosperous world and what we have to offer communities of nations… each of our success is increased when other nations succeed as well.” Said Biden.
Biden pushed for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, which will ensure Israel’s security and prosperity while also granting Palestine the state they’re entitled to.
“We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon,” Biden said, pushing the Assembly to continue the nuclear non-proliferation regime.
“This institution… is at its core an act of dauntless hope… the challenges we face today are great indeed, but our capacity is greater. Our commitment must be greater still.” Biden said.