No fossil fuel interest or government can stop the world from working toward a clean energy future, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday after holding a closed-door virtual meeting with 17 heads of government and state.
By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
Participants in the meeting included Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of China Xi Jinping and other national leaders. United States President Donald Trump was not included.
“We also had leaders currently chairing important regional partnerships — the African Union, ASEAN, and the Alliance of Small Island States and CARICOM, along with many others. It was among the most diverse meetings of heads of state focused exclusively on climate in some time,” Guterres said in a statement following the virtual summit. “Yet I heard a unifying message. Yes, our world faces massive headwinds and a multitude of crises. But we cannot allow climate commitments to be blown off course. We must keep building momentum for action at COP30 in Brazil — and today was an important part of that effort. We don’t have a moment to lose.”
The goal of the meeting, attended by both climate-vulnerable countries and major economies, was to speed up global climate ambition before the November COP30 UN Climate Conference in Belém, UN News reported. Lula and Guterres intended the meeting to help build momentum for stronger global measures under the Paris Agreement, as well as climate action plans to be announced by countries in 2025.
The two-hour session included leaders from the African Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, small island developing states and the European Union.
“Renewables are the economic opportunity of the century. Dissenters and fossil fuel interests may try to stand in the way. But as we heard today, the world is moving forward. Full-speed ahead. No group or government can stop the clean energy revolution,” Guterres said following the meeting.
The secretary-general said many of the leaders had committed to delivering ambitious new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as soon as possible, which he said was a “strong message of hope.”
Guterres also announced a confirmation by President Xi Jinping that China’s new NDCs would cover all greenhouse gases and economic sectors, which Guterres called “extremely important” for climate action, reported UN News.
Guterres noted that the cost of renewables has dropped dramatically and that they provide “the surest route to energy sovereignty and security, ending dependence on volatile and expensive fossil fuel imports.”
“Science is on our side — and economics have shifted. Prices for renewables have plummeted and the sector is booming — creating jobs and boosting competitiveness and growth worldwide. The pathway out of climate hell is paved by renewables,” Guterres said.
Since the Paris Agreement was implemented in 2015, global warming projections have fallen from more than four degrees Celsius to 2.6 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels this century if current plans are put into action.
However, that is still short of the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal endorsed by climate scientists and agreed upon in Paris.
“We must go further and faster,” Guterres said. “These new climate plans offer a unique opportunity to lay out a bold vision for a just green transition over the next decade. They should align with 1.5 degrees and set emissions-reduction targets that cover all greenhouse gases and the whole economy as several today mentioned clearly. Most importantly, they should help speed-up a just transition away from fossil fuels to renewables… Link national energy and development strategies with climate goals… And signal to policymakers and investors alike a total commitment to achieving global net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
The secretary-general emphasized the need to give developing countries much more support, as they are facing the most severe climate change impacts while having contributed the least to worldwide emissions.
“Those least responsible for climate change are suffering from its worst effects. Africa and other parts of the developing world are experiencing faster warming — and the Pacific islands are seeing faster sea-level rise — even while the global average itself is accelerating,” Guterres said. “Meanwhile, despite being home to 60 per cent of the world’s best solar resources, Africa has only around 1.5 per cent of installed solar capacity – and receives just two per cent of global investment into renewables. We need to change this — fast.”
Guterres said leaders will need to provide developing countries with “a credible roadmap” for mobilizing $1.3 trillion annually by 2035.
“Developed countries must honour their promise to double adaptation finance to at least $40 billion a year, by this year. And we need significantly increased contributions and innovative sources of finance to support the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage. Across all these fronts, we will keep up the push — including at a special event in September in the final weeks to COP30,” Guterres said. “As today’s meeting made clear, we cannot, must not, and will not let up on climate action.”
Cristen is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. She holds a JD and an Ocean & Coastal Law Certificate from University of Oregon School of Law and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of the short story collection The Smallest of Entryways, as well as the travel biography, Ernest’s Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway’s Life.
