UN to mobilize global coalition for carbon neutrality next year: Guterres

UNITED NATIONS - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that the world body plans to mobilize a global coalition for carbon neutrality in 2021.

The UN chief made this announcement at a high-level session of the Paris Peace Forum.

Five years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement on climate change, "we are still not on a trajectory that would enable us to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius," the secretary-general said.

"To do that -- and the scientific community keeps reminding us of this -- we must at all costs reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050," he added.

Underscoring the importance of action, Guterres said that 2021 should be made as "the year of a leap forward towards carbon neutrality."

To realize the goal, "every country, city, financial institution and company should adopt plans for transitioning to net-zero emissions by 2050," he said.

By early 2021, countries representing more than 65 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions and more than 70 percent of the world economy would have made ambitious commitments to carbon neutrality, he added.

Speaking of governance and leadership in climate action, the UN chief said, "authorities must integrate the goal of carbon neutrality into all economic and fiscal policies and decisions, in order to truly transform industry, agriculture, transportation and the energy sector."

Guterres also underscored the importance of developing countries, noting that a grand coalition on the goal of net-zero emissions "cannot be global without developing countries."

"This means taking into account, in good faith, the common but differentiated responsibilities of one and all, and accompanying these countries in the adoption and, above all, the achievement of ambitious goals," he said.

Referring to the importance of financing in climate action, he said "all of this calls for private and public financing, which is currently lacking."

Talking about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the secretary-general said: "it should be borne in mind that about three quarters of new infectious diseases are zoonotic. These new diseases are the result of our lifestyles."

"We must fully integrate climate and environmental action into stimulus packages in order to rebuild sustainable and inclusive economies and societies. But, no country can achieve such a transformation alone. We need cooperation and solidarity," Guterres said.