The world is in a race to limit climate change. To meet the urgent need to address climate change and achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is convening a Summit in September 2019 to raise ambition and increase climate action. The race is on. It is a race we can win. It is a race we must win.
Climate Action Summit, 23 September 2019
Climate change is the defining issue of our time and now is the defining moment to do something about it. There is still time to tackle climate change, but it will require an unprecedented effort from all sectors of society. To boost ambition and accelerate actions to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, UN Secretary-General António Guterres will host the 2019 Climate Action Summit on 23 September to meet the climate challenge. The Summit will showcase a leap in collective national political ambition and it will demonstrate massive movements in the real economy in support of the agenda. Together, these developments will send strong market and political signals and inject momentum in the “race to the top” among countries, companies, cities and civil society that is needed to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Climate Change Can Prove the Value of Collective Action
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in an interview for TIME Magazine, said "Climate change is not a problem for multilateralism, climate change is a problem for us all. But I think climate change offers an opportunity for multilateralism to prove its value.”
Students in more than 100 countries went on strike to demand urgent action on climate change. Photo credit: United Nations/Basma Baghal
Let’s listen to the world’s young people
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in an op-ed in The Guardian, said leaders need to listen to the concerns of youth on climate change and presented plans for the Climate Action Summit in September to deliver concrete and ambitious solutions.
Limiting global warming to 1.5ºC would require rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in a new assessment. With clear benefits to people and natural ecosystems, limiting global warming to 1.5ºC compared to 2ºC could go hand in hand with ensuring a more sustainable and equitable society.
More than 100 heads of state and government will be attending the UN General Assembly. Climate change will be a major focus attention. Climate Week will take place during the week of 24-30 September, feature close to 150 events on climate change.
Regional Climate Weeks aim at providing space for a grassroots exchange of knowledge and best practices across three regions: Africa, Latin-America and Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific. The initiative will focus on Nationally Determined Contribution implementation, the Sustainable Development Goals, and Global Climate Action.
The Climate and SDGs Synergy Conference organized by UN DESA, UNFCCC and the Government of Denmark, will strengthen the link between the global climate agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, identifying key areas to mobilize action, resources and investment to better serve the implementation of both frameworks and leave no one behind.
COP25 will be held in Chile from 2 to 14 December 2019, bringing together governments, civil society, private sector and environmental organizations to call for more ambitious actions to tackle climate change.
