‘Climate emergency is race we are losing, but we can win’

NEW YORK: Leaders from government, business and civil society announced potentially far-reaching steps yesterday, on September 23, to confront climate change at the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit in New York.

The UN estimated that the world needs to increase its efforts between three and five-fold to contain climate change to the levels dictated by science, a 1.5°C rise at most and avoid escalating climate damage already taking place around the world.

However, the Paris Agreement provides an open-door framework for countries to continuously ratchet up their positive actions, and the Summit demonstrate how governments, businesses and civilians around the world are rising to the challenge.

“The best science, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, tells us that any temperature rise above 1.5°C will lead to major and irreversible damage to the ecosystems that support us,” said António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations. “Science tells us that on our current path, we face at least 3°C  of global heating by the end of the century.”

“The climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win.” “This is not a climate talk summit. We have had enough talk,” he added. “This is not a climate negotiation summit. You do not negotiate with nature. This is a climate action summit.”

Guterres further said, “Governments are here to show you are serious about enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement. Cities and businesses are here showing what leadership looks like, investing in a green future. Financial actors are here to scale-up action and deploy resources in fundamentally new and meaningful ways. Coalitions are here with partnerships and initiatives to move us closer to a resilient, carbon-neutral world by 2050.”