UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a closed-door meeting (Al Jazeera) with world leaders today to focus on climate commitments before the main debate session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) begins tomorrow.
A new UN report warns that even if all countries comply with their current emissions commitments, the world’s average temperature will rise by 2.7°C above preindustrial levels (NYT) by the end of the century. On Friday, Guterres called for (Politico) increased U.S. financing of green development in lower-income countries and more commitments from China on emissions reductions. This week’s UN summit is expected to focus on climate change (Reuters) and COVID-19 vaccine access.
Analysis
“With the success of this fall’s [UN] climate summit hanging in the balance, experts see the U.N. assembly this week as one of the last likely venues for needle-moving commitments,” the Washington Post’s Brady Dennis and Steven Mufson write.
“UN week begins, but impossible to feel upbeat/confident as much of world lacks vaccines, climate change outpacing policy responses, increased friction with both China & Russia, Afghanistan, rift w France, etc. Talk of ‘international community’ looks to be whistling in the dark,” CFR President Richard N. Haass tweets.
