NEW YORK (September 23, 2019)—World leaders gathered in New York City for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly, as well as the 2019 Climate Action Summit—a convening by UN Secretary-General António Guterres aimed at encouraging countries to boost ambition and accelerate actions to implement the Paris Agreement on climate change and meet the climate crisis challenge.
Below is a statement by Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and one of the foremost experts on the UN climate change negotiations, on the outcome of the summit.
“In her blunt and powerful speech at the Climate Action Summit this morning, Greta Thunberg laid down a clear line in the sand, separating those countries and leaders who are united behind the science from those who continue to place the profits of fossil fuel polluters above the safety of their citizens. Sadly, most leaders from the world’s largest emitting countries failed this litmus test, dodging their responsibility to step up action as is essential to address the climate emergency we now face.
“In sharp contrast, many vulnerable nations on the frontlines of climate change joined a growing number of state and local governments, business leaders, investors and others—both in the United States and around the world—by announcing transformational commitments to achieve net zero emissions by no later than 2050, shift investments from dirty to clean energy, get 100 percent of their energy from renewable sources and boost support for climate action by developing countries.
“While these announcements are welcome, their collective impact on global emissions falls well short of what is needed. The science is clear: staving off the worst impacts of climate change requires ALL countries to implement bold actions across all economic sectors to urgently reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases, including by immediately halting the construction of new coal plants and eliminating the hundreds of billions of dollars in annual subsidies for production and consumption of fossil fuels.
“History has demonstrated that such a transformation can happen quickly, if there is sufficient political will. It is long past time for so-called ‘world leaders’ to lead—or make room for those who will.”
Below is a statement by Rachel Cleetus, policy director in the Climate and Energy Program and lead economist at UCS.
“More intense hurricanes and wildfires, rising seas, worsening drought, and record-breaking heat—every day the world’s youth wake up to more evidence that the climate crisis is already here and is having a disproportionate impact on those who have the least resources to cope. This week, led by the youth, more than 4 million people took to the streets to challenge the poor decisions being made by older generations that have left them angry and fearful of their future.
“In New York City today, we saw glimmers of ambition in the announcements made by vulnerable nations, states, cities, investors and businesses, including efforts to stop building new coal plants by 2020 and transition to renewable energy, ramp up energy efficiency, and conserve 30 percent of the Earth’s lands and oceans by 2030. Notably, the Climate Investment Platform will seek to directly mobilize $1 trillion in clean energy investment by 2025 in 20 least developed countries. However, the true test will be whether these promises will be followed by swift action at the scale the world needs.
“Despite this ever-present crisis and the clear warning issued by world scientists in the IPCC Special Report on 1.5 Degrees, global warming emissions have risen for the second year in a row and nations still rely heavily on and even promote fossil fuels. The world’s largest emitters continue to act at odds with what the science shows is needed to avert even worse and more costly climate impacts, and many policymakers remain beholden to fossil fuel interests. It’s time for world leaders to heed the clarion call of those that will inherit this Earth when they are gone by taking urgent actions to rapidly transition towards a clean, renewable and climate-resilient future.”