New York

12 December 2020

Secretary-General's remarks at the Climate Ambition Summit [bilingual, as delivered, scroll down for all-English version]

António Guterres, Secretary-General

[Watch the video on webtv.un.org]

I am pleased to welcome you to the Climate Ambition Summit on the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement.

Five years after Paris, we are still not going in the right direction.

Paris promised to limit temperature rise to as close to 1.5 degrees as possible. 

But the commitments made in Paris were far from enough to get there.

And even those commitments are not being met.

Carbon dioxide levels are at record highs.

Today, we are 1.2 degrees hotter than before the industrial revolution. 

If we don’t change course, we may be headed for a catastrophic temperature rise of more than 3 degrees this century.

Can anybody still deny that we are facing a dramatic emergency?

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.

Some 38 countries have already done so, recognizing the urgency and the stakes.

I urge all others to follow.

Dear friends,

We are not doomed to fail. 

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.

But that is not yet happening.

So far, the members of the G20 are spending 50 per cent more in their stimulus and rescue packages on sectors linked to fossil fuel production and consumption, than on low-carbon energy.

This is unacceptable.

The trillions of dollars needed for COVID recovery is money that we are borrowing from future generations. 

This is a moral test.

We cannot use these resources to lock in policies that burden future generations with a mountain of debt on a broken planet.

And so the central objective of the United Nations for 2021 is to build a truly Global Coalition for Carbon Neutrality by the middle of the century. 

But that promise is not enough.

To make it a reality, we need meaningful cuts now to reduce global emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 compared with 2010 levels. 

This must be fully reflected in the revised and strengthened Nationally Determined Contributions that the Paris signatories are obliged to submit well before COP26 next year in Glasgow.

I commend those leaders that will come forward today with new targets for 2025 and 2030.

The United Kingdom has pledged to cut emissions by 68 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990.

The European Union has agreed to cut their emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990.

These decisions deserve to be emulated.

Every country, city, financial institution and company needs to adopt plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050 -- and start executing them now, including by providing clear short-term targets.

Key emitting sectors such as shipping, aviation and industry must also present and implement new, transformational roadmaps in line with this goal.

Technology is on our side. 

Sound economic analysis is our ally.

Renewable energy is getting less expensive with every passing day.

Climate action can be the catalyst for millions of new jobs, better health and resilient infrastructure.

But let us remember that this transition must be just – and also recognize that women’s leadership is good for climate action. 

Chers amis,

Les politiques économiques et les financements mondiaux doivent être au diapason de l’Accord de Paris et des Objectifs de développement durable.

Il est grand temps :

De fixer un prix au carbone.

D’éliminer progressivement le financement des combustibles fossiles et de mettre un terme aux subventions dont ils bénéficient.

D’arrêter de construire de nouvelles centrales à charbon.

De faire peser l’impôt non plus sur le revenu mais sur le carbone, non plus sur les contribuables mais sur les pollueurs.

De rendre obligatoire la divulgation des risques financiers liés au climat.

Et d’intégrer l’objectif de neutralité carbone dans toutes les politiques et décisions économiques et budgétaires.

Le secteur financier privé doit aider les entreprises à transformer leurs modèles économiques, aligner ses investissements avec l’objectif de neutralité carbone et publier ses progrès en ce sens.

Les propriétaires et gestionnaires d’actifs doivent décarboner leurs portefeuilles.

Les institutions financières internationales et les banques de développement nationales doivent mobiliser les fonds et investissements privés pour les pays en développement.

Et les pays développés doivent tenir leur engagement de rassembler chaque année 100 milliards de dollars pour les pays en développement à partir de 2020.

Nous n’y sommes pas encore.

Notre objectif collectif doit être d’aller encore plus loin et de dépasser ces 100 milliards de dollars par an en 2021 et de revoir à la hausse les financements publics internationaux ensuite.

Mais aujourd’hui, l’adaptation ne représente que 20 % des financements concernant le climat.

Nous avons besoin d’une véritable percée sur l’adaptation et la résilience.
 
C’est particulièrement urgent pour les petits États insulaires en développement, dont l’existence même est menacée.

L’adaptation ne doit pas être la grande oubliée de l’action climatique.

Dear friends of our planet,

This is a moment of truth.  But it is also a moment of hope.

More and more countries have committed to net zero emissions.

The business community is getting on board the sustainability train.

We see cities striving to become greener and more livable.

We see young people taking on responsibility – and demanding it of others.

Mindsets are shifting.

Climate action is the barometer of leadership in today’s world.

It is what people and planet need at this time.

We have the blueprint: the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

But we all need to pass a credibility test: let’s make the promise of a net zero world a reality now.

On the path to COP26, I urge everyone to show ambition, stop the assault on our planet -- and do what we need to guarantee the future of our children and grandchildren.

Thank you.

****
[all-English version]

I am pleased to welcome you to the Climate Ambition Summit on the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement.

Five years after Paris, we are still not going in the right direction.

Paris promised to limit temperature rise to as close to 1.5 degrees as possible. 

But the commitments made in Paris were far from enough to get there.

And even those commitments are not being met.

Carbon dioxide levels are at record highs.

Today, we are 1.2 degrees hotter than before the industrial revolution. 

If we don’t change course, we may be headed for a catastrophic temperature rise of more than 3 degrees this century.

Can anybody still deny that we are facing a dramatic emergency?

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.

Some 38 countries have already done so, recognizing the urgency and the stakes.

I urge all others to follow.

Dear friends,

We are not doomed to fail. 

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.

But that is not yet happening.

So far, the members of the G20 are spending 50 per cent more in their stimulus and rescue packages on sectors linked to fossil fuel production and consumption, than on low-carbon energy.

This is unacceptable.

The trillions of dollars needed for COVID recovery is money that we are borrowing from future generations. 

This is a moral test.

We cannot use these resources to lock in policies that burden future generations with a mountain of debt on a broken planet.

And so the central objective of the United Nations for 2021 is to build a truly Global Coalition for Carbon Neutrality by the middle of the century. 

But that promise is not enough.

To make it a reality, we need meaningful cuts now to reduce global emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 compared with 2010 levels. 

This must be fully reflected in the revised and strengthened Nationally Determined Contributions that the Paris signatories are obliged to submit well before COP26 next year in Glasgow.

I commend those leaders that will come forward today with new targets for 2025 and 2030.

The United Kingdom has pledged to cut emissions by 68 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990.

The European Union has agreed to cut their emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990.

These decisions deserve to be emulated.

Every country, city, financial institution and company needs to adopt plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050 -- and start executing them now, including by providing clear short-term targets.

Key emitting sectors such as shipping, aviation and industry must also present and implement new, transformational roadmaps in line with this goal.

Technology is on our side. 

Sound economic analysis is our ally.

Renewable energy is getting less expensive with every passing day.

Climate action can be the catalyst for millions of new jobs, better health and resilient infrastructure.

But let us remember that this transition must be just – and recognize that women's leadership is good for climate action.

Dear friends, 

Global economic policies and finance must be aligned with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

It is time:

To put a price on carbon. 

To phase out fossil fuel finance and end fossil fuel subsidies.

To stop building new coal power plants.

To shift the tax burden from income to carbon, from taxpayers to polluters. 

To make climate-related financial risk disclosures mandatory.

And to integrate the goal of carbon neutrality into all economic and fiscal policies and decisions.

The private financial sector must support companies to transform their business models, align its investments with the net zero emissions goal and disclose its progress.

Asset owners and managers must decarbonize their portfolios.

International financial institutions and national development banks must help to mobilize private finance and private investment for developing countries.

And developed countries must meet their commitment to provide $100 billion dollars a year to developing countries by 2020.

We are not there yet.

Our collective goal must be to surpass the $100 billion dollar a year target in 2021 and to scale up international public finance in the period after.

But today, adaptation represents only 20 per cent of climate finance.

We need a breakthrough on adaption and resilience.
 
This is especially urgent for small island developing states, which face an existential threat.

Adaptation must not be the forgotten component of climate action. 

Dear friends of our planet,

This is a moment of truth.  But it is also a moment of hope.

More and more countries have committed to net zero emissions.

The business community is getting on board the sustainability train.

We see cities striving to become greener and more livable.

We see young people taking on responsibility – and demanding it of others.

Mindsets are shifting.

Climate action is the barometer of leadership in today’s world.

It is what people and planet need at this time.

We have the blueprint: the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

But we all need to pass a credibility test: let’s make the promise of a net zero world a reality now.

On the path to COP26, I urge everyone to show ambition, stop the assault on our planet -- and do what we need to guarantee the future of our children and grandchildren.

Thank you.