Biden invites 40 world leaders, including Xi and Putin, to virtual climate summit

The United States has invited the leaders of 40 countries, including that of China and Russia, to participate in a global summit on climate change in April.

US President Joe Biden's Earth Day global summit on climate is part of his effort to elevate climate change as a top priority. It will be held virtually given pandemic restrictions and will be live-streamed for public viewing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are invited to the April 22-23 summit, according to a White House statement.

Biden told reporters he had not yet spoken to the two leaders about it, "but they know they're invited."

At his first solo news conference since taking office, Biden on Thursday called Xi and Putin supporters of autocracy.

The White House statement said a key goal of the Earth Day summit and a separate gathering in the Scottish city of Glasgow in November will be to galvanise efforts to keep within reach a goal of limiting planetary warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Climate was also a topic when Biden spoke to European leaders on Thursday in a virtual summit of the European Council.

The Biden administration is expected to announce what the White House called "an ambitious 2030 target" for reducing carbon emissions by the time of the summit.

The summit will bring together 17 countries responsible for 80 percent of global emissions and global GDP. The invitee list of 40 nations includes Canada and Mexico as well as allies in Europe and Asia as well as Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria and South Africa.

Biden is urging world leaders to use the summit as an opportunity to outline how their countries will contribute to reduced emissions, the White House said.