UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that China's newly announced commitment to cutting emissions goals is "extremely important" for global climate action.
Guterres made the remarks after the virtual summit, the Leaders Meeting on Climate and the Just Transition, aimed at accelerating global climate ambition ahead of COP30, which will be held in Belem, Brazil, later this year.
The UN chief and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gathered 17 leaders of large economies and small islands to discuss stronger commitments for their 2035 emission goals.
"It was among the most diverse meetings of heads of state focused exclusively on climate in some time. Yet I heard a unifying message" toward action, Guterres said during a press conference after the online meeting.
He said many leaders pledged to deliver ambitious new climate plans, formally known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), as soon as possible, in what he called a "strong message of hope".
When asked about any progress made in the meeting, Guterres said that China has not only announced that it would produce its NDCs, but that those NDCs would cover all economic sectors and all greenhouse gases.
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"It's the first time that China clarifies this point, and this is extremely important for climate action," he added.
The meeting was part of effort to sustain political momentum during a pivotal year for combating climate change, according to a senior UN official. This year is the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement and the upcoming deadline for countries to submit new climate plans.
Noting that the world faces massive headwinds and a multitude of crises in combating climate change and energy transition, the UN chief said, "but we cannot allow climate commitments to be blown off course".
He urged global leaders to step up efforts to submit the strongest possible national climate plans well ahead of COP30, and scale-up support for developing countries, which face the most severe impacts of climate change despite contributing the least to global emissions.
Guterres also announced a high-level UN event to be held in September, just weeks ahead of COP30, to assess progress on climate plans and finance.
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"Renewables are the economic opportunity of the century. Dissenters and fossil fuel interests may try to stand in the way. As we heard today, the world is moving forward. Full-speed ahead. No group or government can stop the clean energy revolution," he stressed.
