Communication on the 2019 Climate Action Summit hosted by the United Nations Secretary General in New York

Summary:

Communication presented on 11 September 2019 by the European Commission reaffirming the EU's commitment to accelerated climate ambition and recalling the EU's global leadership in the fight against climate change.

Further information:

The United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) António Guterres is hosting a Climate Action Summit in New York on 23 September 2019, the day before the opening of the UN General Assembly. It will be followed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals Summit on 24 and 25 September.

The objective of the Climate Action Summit is to boost climate ambition and accelerate action to implement the Paris Agreement. In particular, the Summit seeks to encourage Parties to raise the level of ambition of their existing emissions reduction contributions and to submit long-term strategies, in time for the meeting of the Conference of the Parties at the end of 2020.

Background:

Climate change is a defining challenge of our generation and the EU has been at the forefront of negotiating a multilateral framework to respond to this global challenge. In 2015, the EU diplomacy played a leading role in brokering the historic and global Paris Climate Agreement. 195 countries agreed on a simple goal: to hand over to future generations a healthier planet and more prosperous, modern and fair societies.

The Paris Agreement sets a goal of limiting global average temperature rise to well below 2° Celsius while pursuing a limit of 1.5° C. It holds its Parties accountable through a robust transparency system that will track their progress in implementing their contributions, and requires Parties every five years to raise the level of ambition of their contributions in light of the latest science.

European Commission: Press Release, 11/09/2019: The European Union continues to lead the global fight against climate change https://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-5534_en.htm

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