Global leaders today presented bold climate ambition and urgent demands at the
Climate Ambition Roundtable convened by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres,
capping a week of major announcements – including from China, the EU and many
global businesses - that signal the tide is turning for climate action.
“All actors - governments, cities and companies, NGOs and international
organizations need to have their own transition plans to net-zero before 2050,”
said the Secretary-General.
To harness the growing momentum, the Roundtable also included the announcement
of a virtual Climate Ambition Summit on the 5th Anniversary of the Paris
Agreement on 12 December.
“The fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement on 12 December 2020, which will
gather leaders from governments, business and civil society, will be an
important moment to continue raising climate ambition. I look forward to
working closely on this event with the leaders of Chile, the United Kingdom,
France and others to deliver increased ambition,” the Secretary-General said.
Global investors at ‘tipping point’
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Finance Mark Carney said of
private finance: "It's not just moving, it's moving fast”.
“The private financial sector is moving. We are at a tipping point. It is not
just momentum. The decisiveness of your climate policies and the NDCs
(Nationally Determined Contributions), and the decisiveness of the action you
take over the course of next year will allow the private sector to amplify and
pull forward that adjustment in a virtuous cycle. That can help us achieve our
goals.”
Special Envoy Carney also said there were calls from every major bank, the
world’s largest insurers, biggest pension funds and top asset managers for the
disclosure of climate-related financial information. He said this support is
truly global, stemming from almost 60 countries and with a market cap of almost
US$13 trillion and financial institutions responsible for assets of £150
trillion.
Major Economies
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EC’s proposal –
announced just this week - to raise it ambition by cutting greenhouse gases by
55 per cent compared to 1990 levels by 2030, up from 40 per cent. “It’s
achievable,” she said and would require additional investments. “We will
raise the money,” she said of the EC’s proposal to issue 200 billion Euros of
green bonds, and flagged greater EU cooperation with other nations and
non-state actors.
Several leaders in the Roundtable said they were encouraged by China’s
announcement this week it would become carbon neutral before 2060, and China’s
signal that it would pursue concrete plans and policies to achieve this goal.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said that Chile would phase out all
coal-powered generation and electrify all its public transport by 2040.
President Pinera also stressed the importance of the Coalitions of
Finance Ministers that Chile co-chairs in the work ahead.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy – incoming G20 chair - called on
investors to divest from fossil fuels. He, along with other leaders
including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and UK Prime Minister Boris
Johnson stressed the need to put climate action and green jobs at the center of
COVID recovery plans.
Through 2019 the Secretary-General has urged all governments to take six
climate-positive actions to recover better from the pandemic that includes
investing in jobs and green business, no bailouts to polluting industries,
ending subsidies for fossil fuels, considering climate risks in all decisions
and policy-making, working together and ensuring that no one is left behind.
Building resilience and a just transition
Leaders of small island countries – including Fiji Prime Minister Josaia
Bainimarama, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne – along with
leaders from least developed countries urged developed countries to step up
efforts to strengthen resilience and adaptation.
Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou called on partners to step up their support
efforts through the $440 billion Climate Investment Plan for the Sahel region
that would benefit 67 million people.
“To protect the planet and ourselves”, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
said her country was building thousands of cyclone shelters and called for
political leadership and international collaboration to limit the global
temperature increase and deliver promised finance to vulnerable countries. She
emphasized that the rehabilitation of climate refugees is a global
responsibility.
Despite challenging economic and credit conditions due to COVID-19, the
Roundtable reinforced the urgency of developed nations supporting developing
nations, including through full delivery of the US$100 billion commitment for
climate finance in the Paris Agreement. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
said that more climate finance will be needed, which will require a massive
reorientation of capital flows.’
Key civil society leaders – including Tasneem Essop of the Climate Action
Network
and Laurence Tubiana of the European Climate Foundation - said the climate
crisis and pandemic were combining to add to the suffering of the world’s most
vulnerable people, who must be central in government’s recovery plans.
They noted the importance of eradicating poverty, improving access to
healthcare, education, water and good jobs, consistent with the Sustainable
Development Goals. Ms. Tubiana stressed the importance of long-term
climate strategies, and noted they can also underpin long-term business
investment plans to drive sustainable recoveries
Dr. Vladimir Kattsov of the World Meteorological Organization’s Scientific
Advisory Panel cited the importance of climate science as a powerful tool for
adaptation efforts and decision-making, and urged governments to step up
efforts to improve their data capabilities.
Chief Minister of Bihar State (India) Nitish Kumar stressed the key role of
sub-national governments in achieving carbon neutrality, including by stepping
up sustainable development efforts.
Private Sector leaders stepping up--urge government to do more
Several private sector leaders stepped up calls for governments to set more
ambitious policy frameworks to speed the shift from the grey to the green
economy, and showed how they are leading by example.
For example, Kahori Miyake Co-Chair of the Japan Climate Leaders Partnership
said 150 Japanese businesses representing 48 terrawatts of energy use are
moving towards net-zero emissions by 2050.She also said the Partnership was
elevating its calls for Japan to boost renewables to 50 per cent of the energy
mix by 2030.
Microsoft President Brad Smith said stepping up climate action and ambition
made commercial sense, and that businesses with strong environmental and social
frameworks had outperformed other businesses during the global pandemic. He
discussed steps the US$1 trillion company is taking to deliver on its recent
announcement to be carbon-negative by 2030.
Itaú Unibanco CEO, Candido Bracher, said three leading Brazilian private banks
will launch a program to start reducing finance flowing to illegal
deforestation and said the Brazilian finance sector can and must go further in
its efforts.
Dinah McLeod, CEO of the Global Cement and Concrete Association - representing
a sector producing 7 per cent of global emissions – said 40 cement companies
have committed to carbon neutral concrete by 2050, and noted that concrete is
the most used substance in the world after water. She called for greater
collaboration between the industry and policymakers to promote concrete
recycling and the use of alternative fuels in its production, among other
actions to drive the transition.
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