(USA)
The Global Climate Action Summit concluded Friday with national leaders told ‘climate change waits for nobody’ – so ‘get to work’.
There were 500 commitments made by ‘regions, cities, businesses, investors and civil society’ at the California summit, which could unlock $26tn in economic benefits and 65 million new jobs through 2030 – if they can be implemented.
“We are experiencing huge economic losses due to climate change. But the Global Climate Action Summit has brought together actors demonstrating the vast opportunity afforded by climate action. They are betting on green because they understand this is the path to prosperity and peace on a healthy planet,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Governments worldwide are now being urged to speed up the transition to a low-carbon economy.
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa said: “This Summit and its Call to Action make an important contribution towards achieving our collective goal: to keep global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius in line with the Paris Agreement. It will encourage governments worldwide to step up their actions, demonstrating the vital role that states and regions, cities, companies, investors, and civil society are playing to tackle climate change.”
Californian Governor, Jerry Brown, summit co-chair in San Francisco, ended the landmark event with a rallying call, saying: “This week, cities, states, businesses and non-profits stepped up and took strong action at the Global Climate Action Summit. Now it’s time to take this momentum back home. Climate change waits for nobody. Let’s get to work.”
