Climate Summary

New York, 23 September—Major announcements by government and private sector leaders at
the United Nations Climate Action Summit boosted climate action momentum, and
demonstrated growing recognition that the pace of climate action must be rapidly accelerated.
77 countries committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, while 70
countries announced they will either boost their national action plans by 2020 or have started
the process of doing so.
Over 100 business leaders delivered concrete actions to align with the Paris Agreement targets,
and speed up the transition from the grey to green economy, including asset-owners holding
over $2 trillion in assets and leading companies with combined value also over $2 trillion.
Many countries and over 100 cities - including many of the world’s largest - announced
significant and concrete new steps to combat the climate crisis.
Many smaller countries, including Small Island Developing States and Least Developed
Countries, were among those who made the biggest pledges, despite the fact the they have
contributed the least to the problem.
Speaking at the closing segment, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said “You have
Among the major announcements today:
 France announced that it would not enter into any trade agreement with countries that
have policies counter to the Paris Agreement.
 Germany committed to carbon neutrality by 2050
 12 countries today made financial commitments to the Green Climate Fund, the
official financial mechanism to assist developing countries in adaptation and
mitigation practices to counter climate change. This is in addition to recent
announcements from Norway, Germany, France and the United Kingdom who have
recently doubled their present contributions.
 The United Kingdom today made a major additional contribution, doubling its overall
international climate finance to L11.6 billion for the period from 2020 to 2025
 India pledged to increase renewable energy capacity to 175gw by 2022 and
committed to further increasing to 450GW, and announced that 80 countries have
joined the International Solar Alliance.
 China said it would cut emissions by over 12 billion tons annually, and would pursue a
path of high quality growth and low carbon development.
 The European Union announced at least 25% of the next EU budget will be devoted
to climate-related activities.
 The Russian Federation announced that they will ratify the Paris Agreement, bringing
the total number of countries that have joined the Agreement to 187.
 Pakistan said it would plant more than 10 billion trees over the next five years.
On unprecedented levels of private sector action:
 A group of the world’s largest asset-owners -- responsible for directing more than $2
trillion in investments -- committed to move to carbon-neutral investment portfolios by
2050.
 87 major companies with a combined market capitalization of over US$ 2.3 trillion
pledged to reduce emissions and align their businesses with what scientists say is
needed to limit the worst impacts of climate change - a 1.5°C future.
 130 banks – one-third of the global banking sector - signed up to align their
businesses with the Paris agreement goals
On transitioning from brown to green energy:
 Michael Bloomberg will increase the funding and geographic spread of his coal phase
out efforts to 30 countries. Already, his work has helped to close 297 out of 530 coal
plants in the US.
 Countries, including France and New Zealand, announced that they will not allow oil
or gas exploration on their lands or off-shore waters.
 Heads of State from Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy,

Netherlands, Portugal, and Slovakia, are among those that announced that they will
work to phase out coal. The Republic of Korea announced it would shut down four
coal-fired power plants, and six more will be closed by 2022, as well as the doubling
of its contribution to the Green Climate Fund.
 The Summit also delivered critical platforms for improving energy efficiency and
reducing the growing energy needs for cooling, with the “Three Percent Club”
coalition working to drive a three percent annual global increase in energy efficiency
and the Cool Coalition setting ambitious national cooling targets for its members with
the potential to deliver up to 1 degree on the pathway to a 2050 net zero carbon
world.
On scaling up financing and unlocking barriers to funds:
 Many countries announced new contributions to the Green Climate Fund, the official
financial mechanism to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation
practices to counter climate change, with several countries, including France,
Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom, announcing that they would double their
present contributions.
 Further, the Climate Investment Platform was officially announced today. It will seek
to directly mobilize US$ 1 trillion in clean energy investment by 2025 in 20 Least
Developed Countries in its first year.
 Summit initiatives were designed to ensure the actions undertaken would be fair for
all, supporting jobs and clear air for better health, and protect the most vulnerable, as
well as new initiatives on adaptation, agriculture and early warning systems will
protect 500 million additional people against the impacts of climate change.
New initiatives announced today have been designed to be scaled-up to deliver impact at the
global scale needed. The Secretary-General urged governments, businesses and people
everywhere to join the initiatives announced at the Summit, and promised to “keep pushing” for
greater ambition and action. The Secretary-General committed the UN system to support
implementation of plans presented at the Summit, with an initial report to be delivered at COP25
in Santiago, Chile.
A full list of the announcements and commitments made at the Climate Summit can be found
at www.un.org/climatechange

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New York, 23 September—Major announcements by government and private sector leaders at

On unprecedented levels of private sector action:

On transitioning from brown to green energy:

 Heads of State from Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy,

On scaling up financing and unlocking barriers to funds:

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