UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has personally met with about 40 world leaders, warning that “developed nations must take the lead.” Glasgow
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appealed to rich countries.
This money promised in the 2015 Paris Agreement has not yet come into effect, but both Guterres and Johnson believe they can reach the milestone in COP26.
“We are not there yet, but there were positive statements about it today. So I hope it can make serious progress in Glasgow,” the Portuguese diplomat said after meeting the leaders.
At the private meeting, Johnson noted that key commitments had been made by countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Italy and the European Union (EU), but stressed that it was important to see what the United States would do. Joe Biden is scheduled to address the climate crisis in a speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
However, Guterres expressed concern over the lack of progress in embracing the cholera crisis and particularly in reducing emissions of pollutants.
“Based on the current commitment of member states, the world is on a catastrophic path of warming to 2.7 degrees Celsius. Science says anything above 1.5 degrees will be catastrophic,” he warned.
The UN President stressed that all countries must contribute to achieving the zero net emission target by 2050 and urged governments to come up with the most ambitious plans possible without waiting for others.
