Climate Summit shows surge in action, ambition

New York, Dec 13 : Global climate leaders took a major stride towards a resilient, net zero emissions future today, presenting ambitious new commitments, urgent actions and concrete plans to confront the climate crisis.
Co-convened by the United Nations, the UK and France, in partnership with Italy and Chile, on the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, Saturday’s Climate Ambition Summit marked a major milestone on the road to the crucial UN climate conference COP26 in Glasgow next November.
A total of 75 leaders from all continents outlined new commitments at the summit. This is a clear signal that the Paris Agreement — more than ever before the compass of international action — is working to steeply increase climate action and ambition.
The summit showed clearly that climate change is at the top of the global agenda despite our shared challenges of Covid-19, and that there is mutual understanding that the science is clear.
Climate destruction is accelerating, and there remains much more to do as a global community to keep the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
However, the summit showed beyond doubt that climate action and ambition are on the rise. The announcements at or just before the summit, together with those expected early next year, mean that countries representing around 65 per cent of global CO2 emissions, and around 70 per cent of the world’s economy, will have committed to reaching net zero emissions or carbon neutrality by early next year.