The United States and China were not in attendance at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, which convened today during Climate Week in Manhattan and followed huge climate demonstrations around the world. Convened by UN Secretary General António Guterres, the summit spotlighted the efforts of global leaders accelerating the battle against global warming.
Also excluded from the list of 34 speakers was the UAE, which will host the UN COP28 later this year.
Summit attendees not only included heads of state but also representatives from cities and states as well as companies and agencies.
“Climate action is dwarfed by the scale of the challenge,” Mr. Guterres said. “We must make up time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels.”
Among those countries speaking were Brazil, Canada, the European Union, Pakistan, South Africa and Tuvalu. (The EU was the only one of four largest fossil fuel emitters invited to address the meeting.)
Other speaking slots went to Allianz (ALVG.DE), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the city of London, and the state of California.
California Governor Gavin Newsom was one of the 34 speakers on the schedule and received huge applause from the audience when he addressed the role of the fossil fuel industry in the climate crisis.
“This climate crisis is a fossil fuel crisis. It’s not complicated,” he said. “It’s the burning of oil, the burning of gas, the burning of coal. We need to call that out. For decades, the oil industry has been playing each and everyone in this room for fools. Their deceit and denial going back decades has created the conditions that persist here today.”