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India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a 'Quad nations' meeting at the Leaders' Summit of the Quadrilateral Framework hosted by US President Joe Biden with Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in the East Room at the White House in Washington, US, Sep 24, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein) - 

President Joe Biden and the leaders of Australia, India and Japan highlighted their Quad group's role in safeguarding a stable, democratic Indo-Pacific on Friday (Sep 24) in a veiled dig at rival China.

The first in-person summit of the Quad marked Biden's latest effort to cement US leadership in Asia in the face of a rising China.

Meeting in the White House's ceremonial East Room, the four leaders discussed their COVID-19 vaccines drive, regional infrastructure, climate change and securing supply chains for the vital semiconductors used in computer technology.

And while China was not mentioned, the growing US rival loomed over much of the day.

"We liberal democracies believe in world order that favors freedom and we believe in a free and open Indo-Pacific because we know that's what delivers a strong, stable, and prosperous region," Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at the start of the summit.

That phrase "free and open" has become code for expressing the big regional powers' worry about swelling Chinese economic, diplomatic and military presence - including threats to vital international sea lanes.

"This event demonstrates the strong solidarity between our four nations and our unwavering commitment to the common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific," Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed their countries' "shared democratic values."

Biden, who often talks about democracies needing to prove their capability in an age of powerful autocracies in Russia and China, told the Quad they were on the frontline.

"We're four major democracies with a long history of cooperation. We know how to get things done and we are up to the challenge," he said//CNA

Police officers remove a protestor of the group "Insulate Britain" from the roof of a lorry at the entrance of Po September 24, 2021. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls - 

British climate change protesters on Friday (Sep 24) temporarily blocked the Port of Dover, Europe's busiest trucking port, and police arrested 39 people.

About 40 activists from the environmental group Insulate Britain brought traffic to and from the port, the main artery for trade over the English Channel, to a standstill. Some demonstrators sat on the road until police cleared them.

The port said on Twitter that traffic was moving freely again about three hours after it announced the protest.

Insulate Britain wants the government to commit to providing insulation for 29 million homes in an effort to curb fossil fuel use and fight global warming.

The Transport Ministry said the High Court on Friday approved an injunction that would send members of the group to jail if they repeat the Dover protests.

The group has blocked London's M25 orbital motorway five times in the last two weeks, and an order calling for jail time was issued earlier in the week for further protests on the M25.

"It is unacceptable that people cannot go about their day-to-day businesses ... because of the reckless actions of a few protesters," Transport Minister Grant Shapps said on Twitter.

Insulate Britain says the government should fund the insulation of all social housing by 2025. Nearly 15per cent of the UK's total greenhouse gas emissions come from heating homes, it says.

“We are sorry for the disruption that we are causing. It seems to be the only way to keep the issue of insulation on the agenda," the group said.

Britain, which aims to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, will host the UN COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson will push world leaders to commit to ending reliance on fossil fuels//CNA

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the world to step up its fight against climate change - 

The United Nations chief called Friday (Sep 24) for the world to redouble its renewable energy efforts to avert a climate emergency and address global energy poverty.

"Today, we face a moment of truth," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who described the mandate as a "double imperative - to end energy poverty and to limit climate change.

"And we have an answer that will fulfil both imperatives," Guterres said. "Affordable, renewable and sustainable energy for all."

The comments came as governments and the private sector pledged to spend more than US$400 billion at a high-level summit that called for an acceleration of efforts to avert catastrophic climate change and simultaneously bring electricity to more of the 760 million people around the world who currently lack it.

The "energy compact" lists commitments from more than 35 governments and several large companies, including TotalEnergies, Schneider Electric and Google.

The aim is to revamp the global energy system, which accounts for about 75 percent of total greenhouse gases, according to the United Nations.

Jennifer Layke, global energy director at the World Resources Institute, said the pledges serve "transparency purposes" and enable NGOs to hold companies and governments accountable.

But "to deliver on climate, we still have a long way to go to get to the level of transformation on the energy transition that is required," she said.

Guterres noted there has been some progress, with renewable energy now comprising 29 per cent of global electricity generation.

"But it's not nearly fast enough," Guterres said. "We are still a long way from being able to provide affordable and clean energy for all."

He said the world must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent in 2030 from 2010 levels to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.

An IMF study published Friday estimated that direct and indirect subsidies of fossil fuels added up to us$5.9 trillion, about 6.8 per cent of global GDP in 2020.

"Underpricing fossil fuel undermines domestic and global environmental objectives, hurting people and hurting the planet," said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva//CNA

US President Joe Biden hosts a virtual coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Summit as part of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) from the South Court Auditorium in the White House complex in Washington, US, Sep 22, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein) - 

Some 60 million people in the United States are now eligible for a Pfizer booster shot against COVID-19, President Joe Biden said on Friday (Sep 24) as a regulatory marathon laying bare divisions within the scientific community on the issue came to a close.

In the end, US health authorities have recommended boosters for three categories of people: those 65 and older, those 18-64 with an underlying medical condition such as diabetes or obesity, and those who are especially exposed to the virus because of their work or where they live.

The last, at-risk group is large and includes teachers, grocery store employees, health care workers, prisoners and people living in homeless shelters.

A total of 20 million people got their second Pfizer shot long enough ago - at least six months - to qualify now for a booster, Biden said.

"Go get the booster," he said in a remarks at the White House.

"I'll be getting my booster shot," the 78-year-old president added, "as soon as I can."

Biden said people who have received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccinations could get booster shots once studies have been completed and he expected that all Americans would be eligible "in the near term."

Some immunocompromised people in the United States have been eligible to receive a third dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine since early August.

Biden had wanted to launch a mass campaign of Pfizer and Moderna booster shots this week for all Americans.

But the move was put on hold by the US health authorities. Moderna did not submit the necessary data in time and experts were divided about what to do regarding Pfizer.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday overruled its own panel of health experts to back Pfizer booster shots for individuals at high risk of exposure because of their jobs.

CDC director Rochelle Walensky said the agency had to act on "complex, often imperfect data" for the greater good of public health.

"In a pandemic, even with uncertainty, we must take actions that we anticipate will do the greatest good," Walensky said in a statement.

The CDC also backed the panel's recommendation of booster shots for over-65s and some with underlying medical conditions.

The decision came after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Pfizer booster shots for a broader swathe of the American public.

A day before the CDC recommendation, its expert had committee voted against offering booster shots to workers in the higher risk category, adding to confusion around the campaign.

The hours-long debate left several experts torn, as the scientific community has so far failed to reach consensus on whether a coronavirus vaccine booster shot is necessary at this time.

Some experts have concerns about the lack of data on the efficacy and safety of adding another shot to the Pfizer vaccine regimen.

The original two doses are still proving successful at keeping the vast majority of their recipients out of the hospital with coronavirus, they say.

But data does suggest that the vaccine's efficacy against infection does significantly decline in older people over time.

Walensky said approval of boosters for certain at-risk individuals is "first step," and that the CDC would update its guidance on boosters in real time as needed. The agency will evaluate in the coming weeks data on boosters for recipients of the J&J and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines//CNA