UK, UN bill Paris Agreement anniversary as key moment for raising climate ambition

(Climate Home News, 24 Sep 2020) The UN and the UK are hoping to spur global momentum for climate action by urging countries to present tougher climate goals at an online event to mark the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement.

The anniversary of the historic deal on 12 December is the last spotlight opportunity for countries to come forward with the updated plans ahead of a UN deadline at the end of the year.

UN Climate Change has repeatedly called on countries to adopt higher ambition well ahead of critical climate talks in Glasgow, or Cop26, in November 2021, when the world is due to take stock of progress towards cutting emissions.

In Paris in 2015, countries agreed to limit global heating “well below 2C” – striving towards 1.5C. But voluntary national pledges would collectively lead to warming of 2.7C by the end of the century, according to the latest assessment by Climate Action Tracker. If China follows through its pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, it would bend the curve to 2.4C-2.5C.

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Climate Home News, 24 Sep 2020: UK, UN bill Paris Agreement anniversary as key moment for raising climate ambition