Leaders from some of the world’s largest polluting nations, such as China and the United States, have chosen to skip a United Nations summit, called the ‘Climate Ambition Summit’ aimed at making progress in addressing the climate crisis.
Secretary-General António Guterres, who announced the summit last December, emphasized its no-nonsense approach, welcoming only leaders from countries with concrete plans to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
During his address to the General Assembly on Tuesday, Guterres highlighted the record-breaking climate disruptions and expressed his desire to break away from the familiar pattern of countries waiting for others to take the first step.
A list released by the United Nations featured 41 speakers, notably excluding China, the United States, Japan, and India.
U.S. President Joe Biden, in his General Assembly speech, delegated the responsibility to his climate envoy, John Kerry, who, interestingly, won’t have a speaking slot at the summit.
Invitations to participate were extended to countries such as Brazil, Canada, and France, as well as the European Union. Among the speakers, we find London Mayor Sadiq Khan, though the United Kingdom as a whole is absent.
The Climate Ambition Summit holds immense political significance, serving as evidence of the collective global commitment to hasten the transition toward a more equitable, renewable energy-driven, and climate-resilient global economy.
Climate advocates are optimistic that the summit will lead to commitments to reduce emissions, phase out subsidies for fossil fuels, and increase assistance to vulnerable nations. However, the absence of major emitters, coupled with geopolitical tensions related to trade and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has somewhat cast a shadow over the summit.