UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned world leaders on Wednesday that our dependency on fossil fuels has “opened the gates to hell.” As he inaugurated a climate meeting, it was notable that major polluters China and the United States were absent.
Despite the increasing frequency of extreme weather events and record-breaking global temperatures, greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise while oil and gas companies make substantial profits.
Guterres labeled the “Climate Ambition Summit” as a “no-nonsense” forum, where leaders and cabinet ministers are expected to announce concrete actions to fulfill their commitments under the Paris Agreement.
In his opening speech, Guterres emphasized the devastating heatwaves and historic fires of 2023 but also highlighted that the future is not predetermined. He stated, “We can still limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees. We can still create a world with clean air, green jobs, and affordable clean energy for everyone,” referring to the target needed to avert long-term climate catastrophe.
The UN set high standards for the summit, allowing only leaders who have developed plans to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions to speak. After receiving over 100 applications, the UN released a list of 41 speakers on Tuesday night, excluding China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and India.
Many prominent leaders, including President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom, did not attend this year’s UN General Assembly, citing competing issues and busy schedules. US President Joe Biden, who addressed the General Assembly on Tuesday, sent his climate envoy John Kerry to the meeting, who will not be allowed to speak in the section reserved for “movers and doers.”
The absence of leaders from the world’s largest economies and emitters, including the lobbying influence of the fossil fuel industry, is expected to impact the summit’s outcomes, according to Alden Meyer of climate think tank E3G.
Catherine Abreu, the executive director of nonprofit organization Destination Zero, viewed the exclusion of President Biden as a positive development, given that the United States is still expanding its fossil fuel projects despite significant investments in renewable energy. She believes this is a correction from past summits, where leaders took credit for climate leadership while pursuing fossil fuel development domestically.
Although the United States won’t take the rostrum, California Governor Gavin Newsom and London Mayor Sadiq Khan will attend the summit.
Broken Promises
This summit is the largest climate gathering in New York since 2019 when Greta Thunberg delivered her impactful “How Dare You” speech to the UN. Climate activists, particularly the youth, expressed their frustration through events like the “March to End Fossil Fuels” in New York.
Observers are eager to hear Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Union President Ursula von der Leyen’s perspective on their own goals and financial commitments to the developing world. Advanced economies pledged in 2009 to provide $100 billion in funding to developing countries by 2020 — a promise that was not fulfilled, with much of the funding being in the form of loans.
Additionally, the establishment of a “loss and damage” fund, intended to assist countries most vulnerable to climate change, has yet to be operationalized.
There are some positive developments, such as Colombia and Panama joining the Powering Past Coal Alliance. Colombia, being the sixth-largest coal exporter globally, joining this coalition is particularly noteworthy.