As 150 heads of state from across the globe address the UN General Assembly, once again it’s Climate Week in New York City!
The Financial Times reports in New York climate week: John Kerry calls for reform of global financial bodies over climate change that the US Climate envoy refused to express his opinion on whether Trump appointee David Malpass should be removed from overseeing the World Bank. Al Gore called for his resignation yesterday for funding fossil fuel projects.
Despite this years historic heat waves and news of runaway climate change, there are signs that world leaders and large corporations are finally getting the message that aggressive action is needed. The Hill reports that China last year invested $381 billion in clean energy, rapidly installing “ solar panels and wind turbines installed across China at a rapid pace in what many see as a new clean energy race with North America.
“Meanwhile, India’s cabinet last month approved an updated climate plan to reduce its emissions intensity by 45 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels, and achieve about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030. These measures support India’s long-term goal of reaching net-zero by 2070.”
Here in the US, the IRA will invest $369 Billion in clean energy and climate and President Biden has announced “his commitment to quadruple U.S. international climate finance compared to Obama-era levels, requesting $11.4 billion from Congress by 2024”.
These steps forward should be cause for cautious optimism at this year’s Climate Week — tempered with a clear-eyed perspective on the work still to be done. A critical piece of the road ahead is building the trust among countries that’s needed for stronger international collaboration on climate action. Our focus now must be on holding governments and businesses accountable to their promises. Accountability begets progress, which fosters trust, which leads to cooperation — cooperation that’s crucial to helping the world achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
Some highlights from UNGA:
Get Involved
Join us for the Global Climate Strike as we demand policymakers and world leaders to prioritize #PeopleNotProfit! We demand that our Governments listen to MAPA voices and immediately work to provide Loss & Damage Finance to the communities most affected by the climate crisis.
#FridaysForFuture