UN holds Climate Ambition Summit

WMO – New commitments and plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions were unveiled by 75 world leaders at the United Nations’ Climate Ambition Summit, held online on Dec. 12.

Co-convened with the United Kingdom and France, in partnership with Italy and Chile, the UN summit marked the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement and was seen as a major milestone ahead of the COP26 climate conference set to take place in Glasgow in November 2021.

Announcements made at or just before the Summit, together with those expected early next year, mean that countries representing around 65% of global CO2 emissions, and around 70% of the world’s economy, will have committed to reaching net zero emissions or carbon neutrality, according to a press release issued at the end of the event.

“The Summit has now sent strong signals that more countries and more businesses are ready to take the bold climate action on which our future security and prosperity depend,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.

“Today was an important step forward, but it’s not yet enough. Let’s not forget that we are still on track to an increase of temperature of three degrees at least in the end of the century, which would be catastrophic,” he said.

Two recent World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reports showed that greenhouse gas concentrations continue to track at record levels, and that 2020 is set to be one of the three warmest years on record, with the average global temperature about 1.2°C above the pre-industrial era. The five years since the Paris Agreement in 2015 have been the warmest on record.

The recovery from COVID-19 presents an opportunity to set our economies and societies on a green path in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. “As we look ahead, the central objective of the United Nations for 2021 is to build a truly Global Coalition for Carbon Neutrality,” said Guterres.

Speaking as part of the online summit in a pre-recorded video, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for any rebuilding efforts following the COVID-19 pandemic to include an “ambitious plan to take strong action against climate change.”

For Canada’s part, Trudeau said the country “will raise our emission reduction ambitions… and in partnership with provinces and territories, we as a country will strive for the upper end of a range of 32 to 40 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.”

He also said Canada will raise the price on carbon by C$15 per tonne starting in 2023, with a goal of taking the price to C$170 per tonne by 2030.

Canada will also “remain committed to making significant investments in international climate finance,” according to Trudeau.