World Shares Mixed Wednesday           04/21 05:20

   Shares rose Wednesday in Europe and U.S. futures edged higher as corporate 
earnings took the spotlight after a day of declines in Asia.

   BANGKOK (AP) -- Shares rose Wednesday in Europe and U.S. futures edged 
higher as corporate earnings took the spotlight after a day of declines in Asia.

   Germany's DAX gained 0.4% to 15,189.03 and the CAC 40 in Paris jumped 0.7% 
to 6,206.80. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.7% to 6,905.16. Wall Street looked set 
for a tepid start, with the future for the S&P 500 up less than 0.1% and that 
for the Dow industrials up 0.1%.

   Worsening coronavirus outbreaks in Asia have cast a shadow over prospects 
for a regional recovery.

   But investors also are focusing on a stream of company earnings reports, 
looking to see if Corporate America is recovering with the rest of the economy. 
This week roughly 80 members of the S&P 500 are due to report results, as well 
as one out of every three members of the Dow.

   On average, analysts expect quarterly profits across the S&P 500 to climb 
24% from a year earlier, according to FactSet.

   Asian governments are scrambling to secure supplies of COVID-19 vaccines 
after seeing infection numbers surge in recent weeks. The rising caseloads are 
straining medical systems from Japan to India and leading to a restoration of 
pandemic precautions such as travel restrictions, quarantine requirements and a 
dimming of nightlife.

   The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gave up just over 2.0% to 28,508.55 while Hong 
Kong's Hang Seng declined 1.8% to 28,621.92. In Seoul, the Kospi lost 1.5% to 
3,171.66, while Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3% to 6,997.50. The Shanghai 
Composite index ended flat at 3,472.93.

   Worsening outbreaks in India and Thailand have also cast a pall on a 
recovery in travel, which in turn is clouding the outlook for oil and fuel 
prices, Stephen Innes of Axi said in a commentary

   On Wednesday the S&P 500 closed at 4,134.94. The Dow Jones Industrial 
Average lost 0.8% to 33,821.30. After shedding an early gain, the 
technology-heavy Nasdaq slid 0.9%, to 13,786.27.

   The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks, which has been outpacing 
the broader market all year, shed 2% to 2,188.21.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.57% from 1.60%.

   Investors have turned defensive, favoring utilities, real estate stocks and 
a mix of companies that make consumer staples like food and household products.

   The market has been swaying between gains and record highs to pullbacks as 
investors weigh solid economic growth against the risks still posed by the 
pandemic. That push and pull will likely continue as vaccine distribution rolls 
on and various industries reopen.

   "In the near term, speculative momentum has waned with U.S. earnings season 
starting to look like a buy the rumor, sell the fact scenario," Jeffrey Halley 
of Oanda said in a report.

   In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 27 cents to $62.40 per 
barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gave up 76 
cents to $62.67 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, 
declined 25 cents to $66.32 per barrel.

   The U.S. dollar rose to 108.22 Japanese yen from 108.09 yen late Tuesday. 
The euro fell to $1.2013 from $1.2035.

US-Backed Afghan Peace Talks Postponed 04/21 06:03

   An upcoming international peace conference that was meant to move 
Afghanistan's warring sides to a power-sharing deal and ensure an orderly U.S. 
exit from the country has been postponed, its sponsors announced Wednesday, 
citing a lack of prospects for meaningful progress.

   KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- An upcoming international peace conference that 
was meant to move Afghanistan's warring sides to a power-sharing deal and 
ensure an orderly U.S. exit from the country has been postponed, its sponsors 
announced Wednesday, citing a lack of prospects for meaningful progress.

   The decision came several days after Taliban insurgents, who are key to 
peace efforts, dismissed the U.S.-promoted conference in Istanbul as a 
political spectacle serving American interests.

   No new date was given for the conference, which was to have started Saturday 
under the sponsorship of the United Nations, Turkey and Qatar. Turkey's foreign 
minister said the conference was delayed until after the Muslim fasting month 
of Ramadan which ends in mid-May.

   The delay underscored the difficulties the Biden administration and NATO are 
facing in orchestrating an orderly exit from conflict-scarred Afghanistan. Both 
have said they would begin withdrawing their remaining troops -- a total of 
close to 13,000 -- from the country on May 1 and complete the pullout by Sept. 
11, no matter what.

   Just hours before the announcement of the postponement, a suicide bomber 
attacked a convoy of Afghan security personnel, wounding seven people in the 
capital of Kabul. The interior ministry said civilians and security personnel 
were among the wounded.

   The attack was the first in weeks in the capital, even as targeted killings 
have escalated and Afghanistan's security personnel have come under relentless 
attacks by Taliban insurgents. Recent months have also seen an increase in 
government bombing raids on suspected Taliban positions and increased raids by 
Afghan special forces.

   Residents fear the attack could be a harbinger of what's to come as foreign 
troops prepare to begin their final withdrawal from Afghanistan. No one took 
immediate responsibility for the attack.

   Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the conference was postponed 
because of "lack of clarity" by the participants, without elaborating.

   The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in a statement Wednesday 
that the conference will be held at "a later date when conditions for making 
meaningful progress would be more favorable."

   Until now, the Taliban have refused to sign on to the conference even as 
Pakistan, where their leadership council resides, has been pressing the 
hardline Islamic militia to attend.

   The Taliban have accused Washington of breaching an agreement signed last 
year under which the U.S. was to have withdrawn the last of its troops by May 1.

   But President Joe Biden, who inherited that deal with the Taliban from his 
predecessor, last week said the remaining estimated 2,500 troops would begin 
leaving on May 1. All American and NATO soldiers would be gone by Sept. 11, the 
20th anniversary of the terrorist assault on the U.S. that launched the 
U.S.-led invasion to hunt down al Qaida's leader Osama bin Laden.

   On Sunday, the Taliban issued an English-language statement on their Al 
Emara site, indicating they were not ready to attend the conference. They 
claimed that a powerful propaganda campaign had been launched, hyping 
expectations that a peace deal would be reached at the end of the planned 
10-day meeting.

   The statement said this was an attempt "to push the Taliban, willingly or 
unwillingly, to a rushed decision which was needed by America." It alleged that 
the aim of the conference was to "complete a for-show road map before the 
withdrawal of foreign forces."

   In Kabul, Afghan government-allied negotiators had anticipated a delay as 
none had received an invitation to the conference and several were without 
visas to Turkey.

   In Washington the U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price would not 
confirm the postponement but said the U.S. would continue diplomatic efforts to 
reach a peace deal.

   "When it comes to the talks in Istanbul, this gets to the point that, from 
the very earliest days of the Biden administration, we have recognized ... that 
there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan, and only through 
a political settlement and a comprehensive ceasefire will we be able to support 
a resolution that brings a security, stability, and prosperity to the people of 
Afghanistan," Price said in a statement.

Biden Pushes Shots For All             04/21 06:08

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. is set to meet President Joe Biden's latest 
vaccine goal of administering 200 million coronavirus shots in his first 100 
days in office, as the White House steps up its efforts to inoculate the rest 
of the public.

   With more than 50% of adults at least partially vaccinated, Biden on 
Wednesday will reflect on his efforts to expand vaccine distribution and access 
in his first three months in the White House. But with all those 16 and older 
now eligible for shots, the president is expected to outline his 
administration's plans to drive up the vaccination rate even further.

   With roughly 28 million vaccine doses being delivered each week, demand has 
eclipsed supply as the constraining factor to vaccinations in much of the 
country. While surveys have shown that vaccine hesitancy has declined since the 
rollout of the shots, administration officials believe they have to make 
getting vaccinated easier and more appealing.

   Maximizing the number of Americans vaccinated in the coming months is 
critical for the White House, which is aiming to restore a semblance of 
normalcy around the July Fourth holiday and even more so by the beginning of 
the next school year.

   Biden was not expected to set new public targets for vaccinations, and 
administration officials have been careful to avoid predicting when the country 
will have vaccinated enough people to reach herd immunity. The U.S. is on track 
to have enough vaccine supply for every adult by the end of May and for every 
American by July, but administering the shots will be another matter.

   In recent weeks the White House has launched a massive outreach campaign to 
Americans to get vaccinated, relying on funding from the $1.9 trillion virus 
relief package passed last month to launch ads and fund direct community 
engagement to under-vaccinated constituencies.

   Biden set his goal of 200 million shots last month after meeting his 100 
million-in-100 days goal just over a month ago. At the time the U.S. was well 
on pace to meet the higher target, and the pace of vaccinations has only 
accelerated, to about 3 million shots per day.

   The 100 million-dose goal was first announced on Dec. 8, days before the 
U.S. had even one authorized vaccine for COVID-19, let alone the three that 
have now received emergency authorization. Still, it was generally seen within 
reach, if optimistic.

   By the time Biden was inaugurated on Jan. 20, the U.S. had already 
administered 20 million shots at a rate of about 1 million per day, bringing 
complaints at the time that Biden's goal was not ambitious enough. Biden 
quickly revised it upward to 150 million doses in his first 100 days.

   It was a deliberate effort by Biden to set clear -- and achievable -- 
metrics for success as part of a strategy of underpromising, then 
overdelivering. Aides believe that exceeding his goals breeds trust in 
government after the Trump administration's sometimes fanciful rhetoric on the 
virus.

Biden: Halve Greenhouse Gases by 2030  04/21 06:10

   President Joe Biden will pledge to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at 
least in half by 2030 as he convenes a virtual climate summit with 40 world 
leaders, according to three people with knowledge of the White House plans.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Joe Biden will pledge to cut U.S. greenhouse 
gas emissions at least in half by 2030 as he convenes a virtual climate summit 
with 40 world leaders, according to three people with knowledge of the White 
House plans.

   The 50% target would nearly double the nation's previous commitment and help 
the Biden administration prod other countries for ambitious emissions cuts as 
well. The proposal would require dramatic changes in the power and 
transportation sectors, including significant increases in renewable energy 
such as wind and solar power and steep cuts in emissions from fossil fuels such 
as coal and oil.

   The nonbinding but symbolically important pledge is a key element of the 
two-day summit, which begins Thursday as world leaders gather online to share 
strategies to combat climate change.

   The emissions target has been eagerly awaited by all sides of the climate 
debate. It will signal how aggressively Biden wants to move on global warming, 
a divisive and expensive issue that has riled Republicans to complain about 
job-killing government overreach even as some on the left worry Biden has not 
gone far enough to address a profound threat to the planet.

   The three people who know about the White House plans spoke on condition of 
anonymity on Tuesday because they were not authorized to discuss the pledge 
ahead of Biden's announcement.

   Biden has sought to ensure that the 2030 goal, known as a Nationally 
Determined Contribution, or NDC, is aggressive enough to have a tangible impact 
on climate change efforts -- not only in the U.S. but throughout the world -- 
while also being achievable under a closely divided Congress.

   The climate target is a key requirement of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, 
which Biden rejoined on his first day in office. It's also an important marker 
as Biden moves toward his ultimate goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

   Scientists, environmental groups and even business leaders had called on 
Biden to set a target that would cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least 
50% below 2005 levels by 2030.

   "Wow. That's ambition with a capital A," Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim 
Cobb said Tuesday after learning of Biden's plans. "That target would put us 
roughly in line with the most ambitious emissions reductions targets" projected 
by scientists and environmentalists.

   Cobb, like other experts, said details of Biden's strategy will be crucial, 
"because those details will likely determine whether this ambitious new goal 
can be translated into policy. The clock is ticking fast, environmentally and 
politically."

   Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann said the 50% 
goal "is precisely what is needed ... an actionable goal within the next decade 
that puts us on the path toward limiting warming below a catastrophic 1.5 
degrees Celsius'' globally.

   The climate summit that Biden is hosting is among his first international 
actions since the United States officially returned to the Paris accord. The 
U.S. withdrawal from the global pact under former President Donald Trump was 
part of Trump's effort to step away from global allegiances in general and his 
oft-stated but false view that global warming was a hoax or at least an 
overstated claim by the world's scientists.

   Biden, by contrast, has made action on climate change a centerpiece of his 
presidency. He has also paused new oil and gas drilling on federal lands and 
proposed a $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan that would remake the U.S. power 
grid and add 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles, among other 
actions intended to sharply cut fossil fuel pollution that contributes to 
global warming.

   The summit is "the starting gun for climate diplomacy" after a four-year 
"hiatus" under Trump, said Larsen, now a director at the Rhodium Group, an 
independent research firm.

   Former Secretary of State John Kerry, Biden's top climate envoy, has been 
pressing global leaders, including his counterpart in China, for commitments 
and alliances on climate efforts.

   Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat who reintroduced the Green New Deal 
on Tuesday with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said the 50% target was 
appropriate to meet the scope and scale of the climate crisis.

   "The United States must be an undeniable global leader in climate action,'' 
Markey said Tuesday. "We cannot preach temperance from a barstool and not pay 
our fair share when approximately 40% of all the excess carbon dioxide in the 
atmosphere is red, white and blue.''

   A 50% reduction by 2030 is "technically feasible and well within our 
reach,'' Markey added. "We can and should fight to pass legislation and deploy 
funding that will allow us to exceed that target.''

   Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the top Republican on the Senate Energy 
Committee, said Biden's pledge would set "punishing targets" for the U.S. even 
as adversaries such as China and Russia "continue to increase emissions at 
will. The last thing the economy needs is higher energy prices and fewer jobs, 
but that's exactly what we're going to get.''

   Like other nations, the U.S. goal includes methane and some 
hydrofluorocarbon gases that trap more heat but don't last as long as carbon 
dioxide.

   The 50% pledge was first reported by The Washington Post.

Putin Lauds Russia's Vaccine Work      04/21 06:13

   

   MOSCOW (AP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual address 
to the nation Wednesday amid a sweeping Kremlin crackdown on opposition 
protests and soaring tensions with the West.

   Putin began his state-of-the-nation speech by hailing the nation's response 
to the coronavirus pandemic. He said the quick development of three coronavirus 
vaccines underlined Russia's technological and industrial potential.

   The Russian leader has urged authorities to quicken the pace of the 
country's vaccination program, which has been slow compared to the West.

   He promised new measures to encourage births and to increase average life 
expectancy, acknowledged that the pandemic has exacerbated demographic trends 
in Russia.

   Putin proposed new incentives to help the economy overcome the blow from the 
pandemic and new social payments to the population.

   Allies of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny called for nationwide 
protests across Russia on Wednesday to support him. Navalny started a prison 
hunger strike three weeks ago to protest what he says is inadequate medical 
treatment for his back pains and officials' refusal to allow a visit by his 
doctor. His deteriorating condition has caused international outrage.

   Navalny's imprisonment and his health condition have fueled tensions with 
the West, already strained over Moscow's interference with elections, hacking 
attacks and, most recently, a massive Russian military buildup near the border 
with Ukraine.

   The Kremlin has rejected Western concerns about the troop concentration, 
saying it's free to deploy the military wherever it's deemed necessary on the 
Russian territory.

Swift Verdict for Chauvin: Guilty      04/21 06:14

   

   MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- After three weeks of testimony, the trial of the former 
police officer charged with killing George Floyd ended swiftly: barely over a 
day of jury deliberations, then just minutes for the verdicts to be read -- 
guilty, guilty and guilty -- and Derek Chauvin was handcuffed and taken away to 
prison.

   Chauvin, 45, could be sent to prison for decades when he is sentenced in 
about two months in a case that triggered worldwide protests, violence and a 
furious reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S.

   The verdict set off jubilation mixed with sorrow across the city and around 
the nation. Hundreds of people poured into the streets of Minneapolis, some 
running through traffic with banners. Drivers blared their horns in celebration.

   "Today, we are able to breathe again," Floyd's younger brother Philonise 
said at a joyous family news conference where tears streamed down his face as 
he likened Floyd to the 1955 Mississippi lynching victim Emmett Till, except 
that this time there were cameras around to show the world what happened.

   The jury of six whites and six Black or multiracial people came back with 
its verdict after about 10 hours of deliberations over two days. The now-fired 
white officer was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, 
third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

   Chauvin's face was obscured by a COVID-19 mask, and little reaction could be 
seen beyond his eyes darting around the courtroom. His bail was immediately 
revoked. Sentencing will be in two months; the most serious charge carries up 
to 40 years in prison.

   Defense attorney Eric Nelson followed Chauvin out of the courtroom without 
comment.

   President Joe Biden welcomed the verdict, saying Floyd's death was "a murder 
in full light of day, and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world" to 
see systemic racism.

   But he warned: "It's not enough. We can't stop here. We're going to deliver 
real change and reform. We can and we must do more to reduce the likelihood 
that tragedies like this will ever happen again."

   The jury's decision was hailed around the country as justice by other 
political and civic leaders and celebrities, including former President Barack 
Obama, Oprah Winfrey and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a white man, who said on 
Twitter that Floyd "would still be alive if he looked like me. That must 
change."

   At a park next to the Minneapolis courthouse, a hush fell over a crowd of 
about 300 as they listened to the verdict on their cellphones. Then a great 
roar went up, with many people hugging, some shedding tears.

   At the intersection where Floyd was pinned down, a crowd chanted, "One down, 
three to go!" -- a reference to the three other fired Minneapolis officers 
facing trial in August on charges of aiding and abetting murder in Floyd's 
death.

   Janay Henry, who lives nearby, said she felt grateful and relieved.

   "I feel grounded. I can feel my feet on the concrete," she said, adding that 
she was looking forward to the "next case with joy and optimism and strength."

   Jamee Haggard, who brought her biracial 4-year-old daughter to the 
intersection, said: "There's some form of justice that's coming."

   The verdict was read in a courthouse ringed with concrete barriers and razor 
wire and patrolled by National Guard troops, in a city on edge against another 
round of unrest -- not just because of the Chauvin case but because of the 
deadly police shooting of a young Black man, Daunte Wright, in a Minneapolis 
suburb April 11.

   The jurors' identities were kept secret and will not be released until the 
judge decides it is safe to do so.

   It is unusual for police officers to be prosecuted for killing someone on 
the job. And convictions are extraordinarily rare.

   Out of the thousands of deadly police shootings in the U.S. since 2005, 
fewer than 140 officers have been charged with murder or manslaughter, 
according to data maintained by Phil Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green 
State University. Before Tuesday, only seven were convicted of murder.

   Juries often give police officers the benefit of the doubt when they claim 
they had to make split-second, life-or-death decisions. But that was not an 
argument Chauvin could easily make.

   Floyd, 46, died May 25 after being arrested on suspicion of passing a 
counterfeit $20 bill for a pack of cigarettes at a corner market. He panicked, 
pleaded that he was claustrophobic and struggled with police when they tried to 
put him in a squad car. They put him on the ground instead.

   The centerpiece of the case was the excruciating bystander video of Floyd 
gasping repeatedly, "I can't breathe" and onlookers yelling at Chauvin to stop 
as the officer pressed his knee on or close to Floyd's neck for what 
authorities say was 9 1/2 minutes, including several minutes after Floyd's 
breathing had stopped and he had no pulse.

   Prosecutors played the footage at the earliest opportunity, during opening 
statements, and told the jury: "Believe your eyes." From there it was shown 
over and over, analyzed one frame at a time by witnesses on both sides.

   In the wake of Floyd's death, demonstrations and scattered violence broke 
out in Minneapolis, around the country and beyond. The furor also led to the 
removal of Confederate statues and other offensive symbols such as Aunt Jemima.

   In the months that followed, numerous states and cities restricted the use 
of force by police, revamped disciplinary systems or subjected police 
departments to closer oversight.

   The "Blue Wall of Silence" that often protects police accused of wrongdoing 
crumbled after Floyd's death. The Minneapolis police chief quickly called it 
"murder" and fired all four officers, and the city reached a staggering $27 
million settlement with Floyd's family as jury selection was underway.

   Police-procedure experts and law enforcement veterans inside and outside the 
Minneapolis department, including the chief, testified for the prosecution that 
Chauvin used excessive force and went against his training.

   Medical experts for the prosecution said Floyd died of asphyxia, or lack of 
oxygen, because his breathing was constricted by the way he was held down on 
his stomach, his hands cuffed behind him, a knee on his neck and his face 
jammed against the ground.

   Chauvin's attorney called a police use-of-force expert and a forensic 
pathologist to try to make the case that Chauvin acted reasonably against a 
struggling suspect and that Floyd died because of a heart condition and his 
illegal drug use. Floyd had high blood pressure and narrowed arteries, and 
fentanyl and methamphetamine were found in his system.

   Under the law, police have certain leeway to use force and are judged 
according to whether their actions were "reasonable" under the circumstances.

   The defense also tried to make the case that Chauvin and the other officers 
were hindered in their duties by what they perceived as a growing, hostile 
crowd.

   Chauvin did not testify, and all that the jury or the public ever heard by 
way of an explanation from him came from a police body-camera video after an 
ambulance had taken the 6-foot-4, 223-pound Floyd away. Chauvin told a 
bystander: "We gotta control this guy 'cause he's a sizable guy ... and it 
looks like he's probably on something."

   The prosecution's case also included tearful testimony from onlookers who 
said the police kept them back when they protested what was happening.

   Eighteen-year-old Darnella Frazier, who shot the crucial video, said Chauvin 
gave the bystanders a "cold" and "heartless" stare. She and others said they 
felt a sense of helplessness and lingering guilt from witnessing Floyd's 
slow-motion death.

   "It's been nights I stayed up, apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd 
for not doing more, and not physically interacting and not saving his life," 
she testified.

China's Xi to Join Climate Summit      04/21 06:18

   

   BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping will take part in President Joe 
Biden's climate summit this week, the government announced Wednesday.

   Xi will participate in the online event by video link from Beijing and 
"deliver an important speech," the official Xinhua News Agency said.

   China and the United States are the biggest emitters of climate-changing 
carbon pollution.

   Xi said in December that China's emissions would fall by 65% from 2005 
levels by 2030.

   Wednesday's announcement gave no indication whether Xi might make additional 
commitments at this week's meeting.

EU Reaches Major Climate Deal          04/21 06:20

   The European Union reached a tentative climate deal that is intended to make 
the 27-nation bloc climate-neutral by 2050, with member states and parliament 
agreeing on new carbon emissions targets on the eve of a virtual summit hosted 
by U.S. President Joe Biden.

   BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Union reached a tentative climate deal that is 
intended to make the 27-nation bloc climate-neutral by 2050, with member states 
and parliament agreeing on new carbon emissions targets on the eve of a virtual 
summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden.

   "Our political commitment to becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 
2050 is now also a legal commitment. The climate law sets the EU on a green 
path for a generation," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said 
early Wednesday.

   Under the provisional deal reached after officials negotiated through the 
night, the EU will also commit itself to an intermediate target of cutting 
greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

   "It was high time for the agreement, as Europe has to show where it stands 
in view of the positive developments in the USA and China," said European 
Parliament member Peter Liese, the negotiator for the EPP Christian Democrat 
group.

   The 2030 target had been 40%, but under the pressure of increasing evidence 
of climate change and a more environmentally conscious electorate, it was 
pushed up, although the EU legislature had wanted a higher target of 60%.

   Lawmakers from The Greens specifically complained that too many accounting 
tricks had been used to reach the level of 55% and that in reality the 
reduction would equate to a 52.8% reduction of direct emissions.

   Its environmental expert, MEP Michael Bloss said EU member nations and 
parliament "have rushed through a weak climate law for the sake of a photo-op 
with President Joe Biden."

   The chair of the negotiations, Liberal MEP Pascal Canfin of the Renew Europe 
group, said finding a middle way was necessary. He said "the compromise reached 
is ambitious: we will do 2.5 times more in nine years than we have done in the 
last 10 years in Europe."

   The EU deal still needs to be officially approved by member countries and by 
the European Parliament, although the action should be little more than a 
rubber stamp.

   The United States, the world's second-biggest polluter after China, is 
preparing to announce its new target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 
2030.

   Under Biden, the United States has returned to the 2015 Paris climate 
accord. Participating nations are set to meet at the annual U.N. climate 
conference, which is being held in November in Glasgow, Scotland, to push for 
ambitious targets.

   The EU said it could blaze a trail for Washington with its decision.

   "The U.S. is not our big brother on climate. We are the big brother or the 
big sister. So they will be actually encouraged by this. They will be pressed 
by this," said Jytte Guteland, a S&D socialist MEP and rapporteur on the talks 
"They will need to deliver when they see what we have accomplished."

   Both Washington and Brussels are aiming to go "carbon neutral" by 
midcentury, a goal scientists say needs to be achieved to keep average global 
temperatures from rising above 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) by the year 2100. The 
Paris accord's more ambitious target of capping global warming at 1.5 C (2.7 F) 
by the end of the century compared with pre-industrial times would likely 
require even more drastic worldwide cuts in emissions.