Abu Dhabi: SiltaNews – News Desk
While urging countries to accelerate action, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell struck an optimistic tone on Tuesday following the release of a new report on updated national climate commitments. The new report details the latest round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted by governments, assessing both the progress achieved and the major challenges that remain.
Taken together, Stiell said, they reveal “some green shoots of good news” and provide “clear stepping stones towards net zero emissions.” If countries deliver on their current pledges, global emissions could decline by around 10% by 2035, according to the UN climate chief. However, he cautioned that “action must be accelerated” to prevent further global warming.
Many of the new NDCs adopt a “whole-of-society” approach, incorporating gender and youth perspectives and seeking to ensure that all sectors benefit from the shift to a low-carbon economy. Stiell described this generation of commitments as a “step-change in quality, credibility and economic breadth”, calling on governments to implement policies that enable every nation to share in the benefits of clean energy and climate resilience.
The UN climate chief added that the private sector is also moving in the right direction, attracted by the huge rewards that the clean economy promises: “As the global shift to clean energy continues to scale, the dividends to follow will be far greater still, as climate action emerges as the economic growth and jobs engine of the 21st century.”