Pelosi, AOC tell COP26 'America is back' on climate

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, poses for a group photograph with US congress members, including US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, during the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow

US congressional Democrats led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, eager to repair damage caused by the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement under Donald Trump, told COP26 on Tuesday that "America is back" to lead on climate.

The 20-strong delegation at the UN climate talks included the chairs of key committees in the US House of Representatives, along with junior members such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, elected in 2018 in part on a platform of action to confront the threat of global warming.

On Saturday, US President Joe Biden hailed the passage of his $1.2 trillion dollar infrastructure plan, which includes billions for electric vehicle charging stations, and tens of billions for climate resilience measures.

"We come here equipped, ready to take on the challenge and meet the moment," Pelosi said at a second press conference.

- US credibility -

In 25 years of working on immigration issues, she said, "I have never before seen so many migrants who are fleeing their homelands because of climate change."

"If we think that the migrant situation we are seeing in America is bad today, it is going to get become exponentially worse over the next several years," she added.

"We lost a number of years because of the US withdrawal," said Laurence Tubiana, who helped craft the 2015 Paris climate treaty at France's chief negotiator. "We have to make up for that."

When asked whether the US had recovered its "moral authority" on climate, Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged the damage done.

Passing the Build Back Better act would go a long way towards doing that, she added.

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