Earth Day 2021 Leaders’ Summit: Ask The Independent’s Climate Correspondent anything about what it all means

Senior Climate Correspondent Louise Boyle takes your questions in what’s being billed as a significant week in tackling the climate crisis

This year’s Earth Day participants are being urged to focus on actively repairing the world’s ecosystems (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The climate crisis is front and center on the world stage this week as President Joe Biden hosts 40 world leaders at a virtual White House summit from Thursday, to coincide with Earth Day 2021.

The international talks have triggered a string of announcements. The US and China have committed to cooperate on climate action and the UK, which will be hosting UN climate talks later this year, set a 78 per cent emissions reduction target by 2035. The announcement of an updated US emissions-reduction target is expected imminently.

The need for big commitments to emissions drawdowns becomes more urgent by the day. A major report this week from the International Energy Agency makes for dire reading - projecting that global carbon emissions will soar by 1.5 billion tonnes in 2021 - the highest annual increase since the world leaned heavily into fossil fuel use after the 2009 financial crisis.

There’s a lot to unpack, and The Independent’s climate team are here to guide you through.

The “Ask Me Anything” event is now over. You can read through the questions and responses below.