UN chief calls for great leap towards carbon neutrality

United Nations, Nov 17 : United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on countries to make a great leap towards carbon neutrality.
“2021 must be the year of a great leap towards carbon neutrality,” the UN chief told the third annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum, described as “a global town hall” that brings together government, business, technology and academia. “Every country, city, financial institution and company should adopt plans for transitioning to net zero emissions by 2050.” The Secretary-General reported that recently, the European Union, Japan, the Republic of Korea, along with more than 110 other countries, announced their pledges for achieving the carbon neutrality goal, which China also plans to reach before 2060, the Xinhua news agency reported.
“By early 2021, countries representing more than 65 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions and more than 70 per cent of the world economy are very likely to have made ambitious commitments to carbon neutrality,” he said.
“The signal this sends to markets, institutional investors and decision-makers is clear. Carbon should be given a price. The time of fossil fuel subsidies is over. We must phase out coal. We must shift the tax burden from income to carbon, from taxpayers to polluters.” The UN chief added that financial reporting on exposure to climate risks should be made mandatory, while authorities must integrate the carbon neutrality goal into economic and fiscal policies in order to truly transform industry, agriculture, transportation and the energy sector.