UN Chief: High Time to take actions on Climate Change

As today’s report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC details, humans are responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 200 years. The rate of temperature rise in the last half century is the highest in 2,000 years. Concentrations of carbon dioxide are at their highest in at least 2 million years. The climate time-bomb is ticking.

But today’s IPCC report is a how-to guide to defuse the climate time-bomb. It is a survival guide for humanity. As it shows, the 1. 5C limit is achievable. But it will take a quantum leap in climate action. This report is a clarion call to massively fast-track climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every time-frame. In short, our world needs climate action on all fronts everything, everywhere, all at once. This can be done.

Actions in favour of climate

Some have already set a target as early as 2035. Leaders in emerging economies must commit to reaching net-zero as close as possible to 2050 again, the limit they should all aim to respect. A number have already made the 2050 commitment. This is the moment for all G20 members to come together in a joint effort, pooling their resources and scientific capacities as well as their proven and affordable technologies through the public and private sectors to make carbon neutrality a reality by 2050.

Every country must be part of the solution. Demanding others move first only ensures humanity comes last.

The Acceleration Agenda calls for a number of other actions.

• Specifically No new coal, the phasing out of coal by 2030 in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD countries, and 2040 in all other countries.

• Ending all international public and private funding of coal.

• Ensuring net-zero electricity generation by 2035 for all developed countries and 2040 for the rest of the world.

• Ceasing all licensing or funding of new oil and gas consistent with the findings of the International Energy Agency.

• Shipping, aviation, steel, cement, aluminium, agriculture every sector must be aligned with net-zero by 2050, with clear plans including interim targets to get there. At the same time, we need to seize the opportunity to invest in credible innovations that can contribute to reaching our global targets.

• We can do this by Safeguarding the most vulnerable communities and scaling up finance and capacities for adaptation and loss and damage.

• Promoting reforms to ensure multilateral development banks provide more grants and concessional loans and fully mobilize private finance.

Conclusion

These new climate plans must reflect the acceleration we need now, over this decade and the next. By the end of COP28, I count on all G20 leaders to have committed to ambitious new economy-wide nationally determined contributions encompassing all greenhouse gases and indicating their absolute emissions cuts targets for 2035 and 2040. The transition must cover the entire economy. Partial pledges wont cut it. I look forward to welcoming first movers on the Acceleration Agenda at the Climate Ambition Summit in September in New York.