Dozens of countries, more than a hundred cities, including several megacities, as well as representatives of big business announced concrete steps to combat the climate crisis. The UN is satisfied with the results of the climate summit, which ended the day before in New York, but urged not to rest on their laurels.
77 countries have pledged until the middle of the century to completely stop the emission of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, another 70 states have promised to expand their national plans to the next year. More than a hundred business leaders, owning companies with a combined capital of two trillion dollars, declared their intention to accelerate the transition to a green economy.
Cities and small countries, including island nations, have also pledged to do their part. “You have accomplished your task and helped build momentum to fight climate change, strengthen cooperation and set higher goals, but there is still a long way to go,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said as he closed the forum. He has been nurturing the idea of this summit for about two years. The UN sought to give leaders at all levels time to prepare for the meeting and to bring concrete plans with them, so that the forum would not turn into just another beautiful event.
And the Summit participants did their best. France, for example, said it would not trade with countries that do not comply with the Paris Agreement. Germany will push for “carbon neutrality. 12 countries promised to contribute funds to the Green Climate Fund. The UK will allocate an additional 11.6 billion pounds by 2025 to fight climate change. India has pledged to increase renewable energy production to 175 gigawatts by 2022 and 450 GW thereafter, and said the International Solar Energy Alliance now has 80 countries.
China will reduce its annual emissions by 12 billion tons. The European Union will devote a quarter of its next budget to fighting climate change. The Russian Federation announced its ratification of the Paris Agreement, to which 187 countries are now parties. Pakistan has pledged to plant ten billion trees over the next five years.
87 major private companies with a combined capital of $2.3 trillion pledged to reduce emissions and limit damage to nature. Some 130 private banks have pledged to adhere to the Paris Climate Agreement in their operations.
France and New Zealand have announced bans on new oil and gas development on their territories. Michael Bloomberg will expand to 30 countries to limit coal production. In the U.S., thanks to his efforts, 297 coal mines out of 530 have already been closed. Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovakia will also phase out their coal industries. South Korea has announced the closure of four coal-fired power plants, with six more to be closed by 2022.
Many countries and organizations have made additional financial commitments. The secretary-general thanked all forum participants, but urged them not to stop there. “We need more concrete plans, we expect even more commitment from countries and from the private sector,” he said. – “We want financial institutions, both public and private, to opt once and for all for a green economy.”
The United Nations, the UN chief said, will facilitate the implementation of all commitments made by the summit participants. The next full UN report on the subject will be presented in Chile at the 25th Climate Conference.