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UN chief Antonio Guterres said the world was "facing a dramatic
emergency". (ABCMyPhoto: Martin Von Stoll) |
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Key Points
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More than 70 world leaders were due to address the one-day virtual gathering aimed at building momentum for much steeper cuts in planet-warming emissions on the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris climate accord.
"Can anybody still deny that we are facing a dramatic emergency?" Mr Guterres said via video in his opening remarks."That is why today, I call on all leaders worldwide to declare a state of climate emergency in their countries until carbon neutrality is reached."
Mr Guterres said economic recovery packages launched in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic represented an opportunity to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future — but warned this was not happening fast enough.
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Mr Guterres said economic recovery packages were an opportunity to
transition to a low-carbon future. (AP: Bebeto Matthews) |
"This is unacceptable. The trillions of dollars needed for COVID recovery is money that we are borrowing from future generations.
"We cannot use these resources to lock in policies that burden future generations with a mountain of debt on a broken planet."Humanity has been quilting the planet in 'a toxic teacosy'
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the summit that countries
could work together to radically cut dependence on fossil
fuels.(AP: Francisco Seco) |
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the summit that countries could work together to radically cut dependence on fossil fuels, change agricultural practices, and reverse the process by which for centuries humanity has been quilting the planet in "a toxic teacosy" of greenhouse gases.
"And at the same time, we can create hundreds of thousands of jobs, millions of jobs, across the planet as we collectively recover from coronavirus," Mr Johnson said.
Diplomats are watching summit speeches for any signs of significantly stronger climate pledges from countries including China, India and Japan.
China and India set 2030 goals
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China says it will lower its carbon emissions.
(China Daily via Reuters) |
In September China announced it would target net zero carbon emissions by 2060, saying it was raising its ambitions for shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
President Xi Jinping announced that China would aim to have more than 1,200 gigawatts of installed wind and solar capacity by 2030 — more than double the country's existing capacity.
China's National Development and Reform Commission, the state planning body, is aiming to have 240 gigawatts of wind and the same amount of solar capacity installed by the end of this year.
"We will take solid steps to implement the targets just announced and contribute even more to tackling the global climate challenge," Mr Xi said via a video message.
India, one of the top emitters of greenhouses gases that lead to global warming, is eyeing 450 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030, Mr Modi said in an address to the Global Climate Ambition Summit.
Renewable energy capacity would reach 175 gigawatts before 2022, he said.
The Pope has also committed the Vatican to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
"The current pandemic and climate change, which are not only environmentally relevant, but also ethically, socially, economically and politically affect, above all, the lives of the poorest and most fragile," he said in a video message to the summit.
"In addition to adopting some measures that cannot be postponed any longer, a strategy is needed to reduce net emissions to zero."
A Vatican statement said the city-state was moving ahead with plans to substitute all its combustion engine cars with electric or hybrid vehicles.
It said the Vatican, which is the world's smallest state, began installing solar panels in 2008 and banned single-use plastic bags last year and was now recycling 65 per cent of its waste and aimed to reach 75 per cent in 2023.
Links
- World is in danger of missing Paris climate target, summit is warned
- UN secretary urges world leaders to declare "climate emergency"
- UN Chief urges world leaders to declare states of 'climate emergency' in their countries
- Every country must declare a state of 'climate emergency', UN chief tells world leaders
- World not doing nearly enough to stop 'catastrophic' global warming, UN report warns
- China Outlines Additional Steps on Climate Action
- 'We've lost families to the sea': Torres Strait 8 win UN experts' backing in climate change case
- Pacific to pressure Scott Morrison on emissions ahead of UN climate summit
- PM steps back from use of Kyoto carry-over credits
- The number of Australians who don't believe in climate change has taken a sharp decline, poll reveals
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