President Joe Biden on Friday drove through Rome accompanied by an approximately 85-vehicle motorcade.
The move received criticism prior to the global warming summit scheduled for Glasgow, Scotland, according to the New York Post.
Biden tours Rome with 85-car motorcade ahead of ‘climate’ summit https://t.co/lXzuSHcnWn pic.twitter.com/Ze2QVdm6Wz
— New York Post (@nypost) October 29, 2021
Video footage showed the long procession arriving at the Vatican:
Biden arriving at the Vatican. His motorcade is lonnnnnng. pic.twitter.com/fDzAH2ENsk
— Chico Harlan (@chicoharlan) October 29, 2021
“Not exactly carbon friendly,” one social media user commented.
“Ridiculous, no man needs that much of an entourage,” another replied.
Biden has routinely stated there is a “climate crisis” due to fossil fuels. However, it was unclear how many of the motorcade cars were electric or hybrid, and they appeared to be typical limos, SUVs, and vans.
Washington Post reporter Seung Min King said in a White House pool report “we are told it is 85 vehicles” in the motorcade, according to the New York Post article.
“The president’s domestic motorcade usually features only a couple dozen vehicles, not including those used to block off traffic,” the outlet continued:
It’s possible that the White House was not responsible for the massive protective detail. Offering security generally is the responsibility of the host country and US law enforcement provides protective motorcades for foreign leaders in DC. Biden departed for the trip Thursday after unveiling a $1.75 trillion framework for social and environmental spending that includes $555 billion in green-energy and anti-pollution spending that he wants Democrats to pass.
Meanwhile, Biden warned about fighting the “root causes” of global warming recently, even as he spoke of his presidential travels across the United States, Breitbart News reported.
While giving a speech in New Jersey, he recalled his lengthy helicopter trips over the summer to view damage caused by wildfires in the West and hurricane damage in other areas.
“With my Build Back Better plans we’re gonna address the root cause of ever increasing extreme weather and destruction. The climate crisis. We have a climate crisis,” Biden stated.
He added, “I’ve flown all over this nation, this year, in helicopters…”
Biden will generate approximately 2.2 million pounds of carbon during the excursion to Europe where he will speak on climate change, the Daily Mail reported.
“The gigantic carbon footprint is comprised of 2.16 million pounds of carbon dioxide generated by the four large planes that comprise his airborne entourage on the trip to Italy and Scotland, where the president will speak at the COP26 summit on change in Glasgow, with the remainder emitted by Biden’s cars,” the outlet said.
