NEW YORK – UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on governments to embrace together the goals of phasing out coal, enhancing climate commitments, and investing in the international development goals so as to rise to ‘the biggest challenge of our lives’.
The world needs a global partnership to beat COVID-19, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and address climate change, the UN chief said n a video message to a key international partnerships summit — the 2021 P4G — in Seoul, South Korea.
The Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) event aims to boost market-based partnerships and rally high-level political and private sector action. It brings together Heads of State, CEOs, and civil society leaders around a shared action agenda to mobilize investments for tangible impact.
Guterres said that although there are commitments to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, there is “still much to do” to close the emissions gap and achieve the SDGs.
He reaffirmed his call to all main emitters to present new Nationally Determined Contributions, commit to net zero emissions by 2050, and, ‘most importantly’, put in place policies and programs towards achieving that goal.
“Tackling climate change head-on will help protect the most vulnerable people from the next crisis while sustaining a job-rich recovery from the pandemic”, he said, reminding that the first priority right now is stopping plans for new coal plants and phase-out of coal use by 2040.
On that note, the Secretary General commended the South Korean government for announcing that it will stop all international coal finance and encouraged other government and private sector entities to do the same.
