World leaders feel heat at the UN Climate Summit

The UN Climate Change Summit was the first event of the UN Week in New York from September 23 to 29. The Summit signaled the urgency of climate change response globally. State leaders and representatives of international organizations participated in the summit.

Multiple commitments

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said his generation is failing to preserve the planet and this must be changed right now by actions, not talk.

At the Summit, leaders and representatives of 77 countries, 100 enterprises, and 12 international investment organizations introduced initiatives and made new commitments to the fight against climate change. German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised to double Germany’s contribution to 4.4 billion USD to the UN Green Climate Fund to help less developed countries cope with climate change. Chile proposed establishing a Climate Ambition Alliance of countries that pledge to reduce carbon emissions to 0 by 2050. The Powering Past Coal Alliance was expanded to 30 countries, 22 local states, and 31 groups.

French President Emmanuel Macron called on countries not to import goods that increase carbon pollution nor fund polluting plants in other countries, to increase budgets for environment clean-up projects, and increase the Green Climate Fund from 7 billion USD to 10 billion USD. Japan’s Minister of Environment Shinjiro Koizumi pledged to move toward a carbon emission-free society and support other countries’ efforts to cope with climate change.

Some US states have pledged to honor the commitments of the Paris Agreement. Amazon recently announced a plan to reduce carbon emissions to 0 by 2040, 10 years ahead of the goal set by the Paris Agreement.

Little progress reported by biggest CO2 emitting countries

Many commitments were made at the Summit but they did not come from the major CO2 emitting countries. US President Donald Trump, who withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement, did not speak at the Summit, claiming he had to attend to a flood emergency in Houston. Analysts noted the US stance at the climate summit has changed a lot since last time. Previously, the US encouraged other countries’ response measures. The Trump administration, however, has rolled back regulations on reducing green house gas emissions from vehicles, coal power plants, and oil drilling.

China has shown no sign of being committed to reducing its use of fossil fuels. Mr. Wang Yi, special representative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, said China is honoring its commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement. But China does not want to take stronger action in the fight against climate change if other rich countries will not take appropriate actions.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will increase its use of renewable energy by 2022 but made no promise to reduce coal dependence.

Climate change is already impacting people’s lives and creating a global crisis. The situation will rapidly become worse without a consensus of all countries around the world.