UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday will gather heads of state and business leaders that he has identified as taking stronger action on climate change for a meeting aimed at building momentum ahead of the COP28 climate summit.
Missing from the list of 34 speakers representing countries at Guterres' Climate Ambition Summit are the world's biggest emitters China and United States, as well as the United Arab Emirates, the host of the COP28 gathering in December.
The summit will feature speeches from leaders who are responding to his call to "accelerate" global climate action, including Brazil, Canada, the European Union, Pakistan, South Africa and Tuvalu.
Guterres said one of the aims was to spur action from countries and companies whose climate plans were not in line with the global climate target.
Non-member states and international financial institutions that will get speaking slots include Allianz, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the city of London and the state of California.
US Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry will attend the summit but will not deliver a speech, a spokesperson said.
The Secretary-General's office has kept a close hold on the list of invited speakers. Guterres' climate adviser Selwin Hart said in an interview with Reuters this week that the purpose of the summit was not to "embarrass" countries or companies that did not make the cut but to inspire more action from others.
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.