New York, 26 November —With key indicators showing that global warming is accelerating and that the impacts of climate change are increasing, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is leading global efforts to mobilize urgent climate action. In a major upcoming address, at an event to mark the five-year anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement, and in major upcoming reports, the UN will be highlighting the present situation and pathways forward toward a safer, more sustainable and equitable future.
State of the Planet — 2 December, 8:45 a.m. ET: The Secretary-General will be delivering a major address on the state of the planet at Columbia University in New York. The speech will look at the current crises concerning climate change and biodiversity loss and outline the steps we need to take to reverse course and take positive action. Watch live on http://webtv.un.org
Climate Ambition Summit — 12 December, 9 a.m. ET: A special event to mark the five-year anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement on climate change and raise ambition to deliver on the Agreement. Co-hosted by the UN, the UK and France in partnership with Chile and Italy, the Climate Ambition Summit will bring together global climate leaders – across governments, business and civil society – to ramp up climate ambition and help deliver on the Paris Agreement. The event, which will be virtual, will set the tone for increasing action and ambition as we move toward COP26. More information at www.un.org/climatechange
State of the Global Climate report—2 December: The World Meteorological Organization will release a provisional statement on the State of the Global Climate Report, which will highlight key climate-related trends in 2020 through October and their impacts. With 2020 shaping up as one of the warmest years on record, the statement will look at temperature, sea-ice, sea-level rise, ocean conditions, precipitation patterns and high-impact weather events with contributions from several scientific and UN partners: https://public.wmo.int/en
Production Gap Report — 2 December: This is the second annual edition of a newer report series that complements the Emissions Gap Report and examines the gap between where fossil fuel supply is and where it needs to be to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. This year’s edition will speak specifically to major changes underway in energy markets – and in government responses to shore up or expand oil, gas, and coal production – linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and other financial pressures. The 2020 edition also covers subsidies and public finance for fossil fuels, including industry bailouts vs green stimulus. https://productiongap.org
Emissions Gap Report — 9 December: This report presents the latest data on the expected gap in 2030 between where countries are and where they need to be in order to limit emissions to meet the 1.5°C and 2°C temperature targets of the Paris Agreement. It considers different scenarios, from no new climate policies since 2005 to full implementation of all national commitments under the Paris Agreement. Last year’s key message was that it was still possible to limit temperature rise to 2°C or 1.5°C, but to reach even the 2°C goal, countries must triple their climate effort by 2030 – and reduce annual emissions by 15 GtCO2e in 2030 compared to today. www.unep.org
Background Briefing — 1 December, 8 a.m. ET: There will be a media briefing on background, off the record and under embargo, on the State of the Planet speech and the Climate Ambition Summit, as well as the Production Gap Report and the State of the Climate provisional WMO statement led by Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Climate Action Selwin Hart. Journalists must rsvp to Florencia Soto-Nino [email protected] by Monday at 5 p.m. ET.
Additional information on these events can be found at www.un.org/climatechange