UN Climate Action Summit 2019

UN Climate Action Summit 2019 took place in the past 23 of September in New York, USA. The target of the summit was to advance climate action for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to prevent the mean global temperature from rising by more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. 70 countries announced steps to reduce emissions and support populations most vulnerable to the climate crisis.

In his inaugural speech to dozens of international leaders, Antonio Guterres stated that "it is not too late yet". He warned, however, that time is running out. "The climate emergency is a race we are losing but we can still win. The climate crisis is our own and the solutions must come from us. We have the tools: technology is on our side." The UN Secretary-General said it is necessary to “link climate change with a new development model, a fair globalization, with less suffering, more justice and harmony between people and the planet.”

The President of Angola, João Lourenço, also attended the plenary session on the 24th, where he was a speaker and emphasized the important role that Angola plays in the African context, whether due to its environmental importance, the regional and sub-regional projects it integrates, such as Okavango-Zambeze, or its efforts to maintain peace and security on the continent, as well as the challenges it faces, notably what is being done to overcome the economic crisis and to combat the effects of drought in the south of the country.

The Portuguese President promised: “We will not fail.” Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa responded to this call by António Guterres and took to the Climate Action Summit some of the measures which Portugal intends to halt climate change, such as making the country neutral by 2050. He referred that it will be achieved "through the full decarbonization of the power system and urban mobility and through the enhancement of carbon sequestration capacity by forests and other land uses".

Alongside with this event, IRENA, SEforALL and UNDP announced a partnership in coordination with Green Climate Fund, in 22 of September 2019. In response to country needs to mobilize low-carbon, climate-resilient investments, this partnership will aim to increase the flow of capital in developing countries to meet climate ambitions. The Climate Investment Platform (CIP) is an inclusive partnership welcoming all stakeholders from governments and international organizations to the private sector to scale-up climate action and translate ambitious national climate targets into concrete investments on the ground. Get to know more about this partnership here.

IRENA’s most recent report refers there are just 11 years left for action to limit the effects of climate change, annual investments of USD 4.3 trillion in the energy sector until 2030 is the world’s most practical and readily available climate solution. Know more about this report and it’s key findings here.