April 28, 2021 President Joseph R. Biden Jr., with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, kicks off the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate in Washington, D.C., on April 22. Courtesy of Close Authorship By the time President Joe Biden articulated it officially Thursday on Earth Day, the new U.S. pledge to halve emissions over the next nine years was one of the worst-kept secrets in climate action circles. Neither was it surprising that the U.S. president closely linked America’s new nationally determined contribution, a reduction target of 50 to 52 percent from a 2005 baseline aligned with the terms of the Paris Agreement, with equitable job creation and the opportunity to make money. "The countries that take decisive action now to create the industries of the future will be the ones that reap the economic benefits of the clean energy boom that’s coming," Biden said in his opening remarks during the virtual two-day climate summit.