- President Joe Biden announced that the US and Germany were planning to enter into a new climate and energy partnership.
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visited the White House on Thursday.
- He also addressed protests in Cuba.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
President Joe Biden revealed that the US and Germany are planning to enter into a new climate and energy partnership, an announcement made during German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to the White House on Thursday.
-ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) July 15, 2021
"Today, we're launching a climate and energy partnership to support energy security and the development of sustainable energy," Biden said at a joint press conference with Merkel.
According to a fact sheet distributed by the White House, the partnership will be co-chaired by John Kerry, the special presidential envoy on climate, and Jennifer Granholm, the energy secretary, as well as their German counterparts. It will focus on three areas of cooperation: developing joint plans to slash carbon emissions; collaboration on new green energy technologies; and assisting developing countries in addressing climate concerns.
At the press conference, Biden also expressed concerns about the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which would transport natural gas from Russia to Europe, saying that Russia "must not be allowed to use energy as a weapon." Both leaders also addressed the catastrophic flooding ongoing in Germany that has left at least 45 dead.
In addition to talking about the climate crisis, Biden was questioned about the protests going on in Cuba. "Communism is a failed system," he said, "and I don't see socialism as a very useful substitute, but that's another story."