| Date | 21–23 September 2019 |
|---|---|
| Location | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Organized by | United Nations |
| Participants | UN member countries |
The 2019 UN Climate Action Summit was held at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City on 23 September 2019. [1] [2] [3] The UN 2019 Climate Summit convened on the theme, "Climate Action Summit 2019: A Race We Can Win. A Race We Must Win." [4] The goal of the summit was to further climate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent the mean global temperature from rising by more than 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) above preindustrial levels. Sixty countries were expected to "announce steps to reduce emissions and support populations most vulnerable to the climate crisis" including France, a number of other European countries, small island countries and India. [5] To increase pressure on political and economic actors to achieve the aims of the summit, a global climate strike was held around the world on 20 September with over four million participants. [6]
The results of the summit were significant though it is believed that they were not enough to limit the rise of global temperature to less than 1.5 degrees as needed to address the climate crisis. China did not increase its Paris agreement commitments, India did not pledge to reduce its use of coal, and the U.S. did not even speak at the conference. [7] However, important commitments were made in many areas and the organizers declared that: "Summit initiatives were designed to ensure the actions undertaken would be fair for all, supporting jobs and clear air for better health, and protect the most vulnerable, as well as new initiatives on adaptation, agriculture and early warning systems that will protect 500 million additional people against the impacts of climate change." [7]
On the web, a page called "Announcements" contained press releases about the results of the summit. [8] Press releases with information about the issue were also published in September 2019, in the section "Press Materials" [9] The information is also stored in the UN portal of climate action "NAZCA" [10]
Ten regions pledged reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by the year 2050. [11]
The commitments of the summit are not enough to limit the rise of global temperature to less than 1.5 degrees, as needed to address the climate crisis. António Guterres, the Secretary General of the UN, said at the close of the summit: "Much more is needed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and keep temperature rise to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century." [27] Andrew Steer, the president of the World Resources Institute, said that: "most of the major economies fell woefully short" of increasing their targets. Those who promise to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 are unsure how to do it. [28]
Some points are especially troubling:
All the announcements will be written in the Global Climate Action Portal called NAZCA. [29] The portal will check the fulfilling of the pledges. [30]
The Climate Home News published a non exhaustive list of the commitments and said it will check the fulfillment. [31]
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Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, launched the Coalition for Disaster-Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) on 25 September 2019. The fledgling partnership has a secretariat in Delhi, supported by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), to enable knowledge exchange, technical support and capacity building. [32] [33]
In mid-August 2019, climate activist Greta Thunberg sailed from Plymouth to the United States to participate in the UN Climate Action Summit. [34] Speaking on 23 September, Thunberg opened her statement to the General Assembly with an impassioned and emotional commentary which was widely covered by the media. [35]
"This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope? How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!" [36]
At her appearance, Thunberg announced that she and 15 other children including Alexandria Villaseñor, Catarina Lorenzo, and Carl Smith were filing a lawsuit against five nations that are not on track to meet the emission reduction targets they committed to in their Paris Agreement pledges: Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, and Turkey. The lawsuit is challenging the nations under the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child (specifically the right to life, health, and peace). If the complaint is successful, the countries will be asked to respond, but any suggestions aren't legally binding. [37] [38]
Following her appearance, US President Donald Trump, who had attended the meeting for 10 minutes and then left, tweeted a video of her opening remarks in which she is obviously emotionally distressed and commented, "She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!" [39]
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