UN Secretary-General António Guterres held the Climate Action Summit from September 21 to 23 at the UN Headquarters in New York. The General Assembly was faced with the greatest challenge of our time: Climate Change. Following is what went down, but first, we need to talk about what climate change is and why it’s so difficult for world leaders to resolve.
A Wicked Problem
Climate change is what scientists and policymakers like to call a ‘wicked problem,’ characterized by “scientific uncertainty, deep public disagreement over desired states and preferred outcomes, the impossibility of finding an optimal solution, and the requirement that despite these unknowns and conflicts the responsible decision maker must act” (pg. 65, Balint et al).
In short, it’s complicated. A wicked problem calls for the complete overhaul of society and culture, interdisciplinary approaches, and immediate, often uncertain, action. This is especially true for the case of climate change.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) SR 15
The fact of anthropogenic climate change is indisputable. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other emissions cause a greenhouse effect that heats the surface temperature of the Earth. Humans account for 1.0°C of global warming, and that number is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate (IPCC SR 15). The IPPC, which monitors climate change as an intergovernmental body under the UN and has the consensus of leading climate scientists, predicts that outcome with high confidence. It’s happening, whether or not we accept it.
Climate change has far-reaching and irreversible consequences for humans, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and cyclic pathways. The severity of these consequences is dependent on how much global warming occurs.
For example, a rise of 1.5°C compared to 2°C results in a 0.1 meter difference in global mean sea level rise. The effects of climate change are already here, with species loss and extinction, increases in ocean acidity and decreases in ocean oxygen levels, and heightened risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth (IPCC SR 15).
Related: The Amazon Rainforest is Burning and it is So Not Cool
Global warming is a big deal, which leaves the question: How can we stop it?
The IPCC models show that action needs to happen as soon as possible, and even then, it might not be effective in limiting global warming to 1.5°C. In model pathways (see below) with no or limited overshoot, emissions need to decline by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 to reach net zero emissions by 2050. To stay below 2°C, emissions need to decline by 25% in the next 10 years (IPCC SR 15).
Via the IPCC
The Paris Agreement is the current UN effort to lower global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. But, here’s the tea: The commitments made in the Paris Agreement are not enough to limit global warming to 1.5°C, even if actions to reduce emissions increase significantly after 2030. To avoid overshoot and reliance on future large-scale deployment of CO2 removal, global emissions need to be in decline, or peak before 2030 (IPCC SR 15). The reality is that we’re not doing enough. The UN is not doing enough.
Courtesy of author
UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ Four Demands
Due to the urgency of the issue, the UN General Assembly has settled hard in a commitment to stop climate change within the next three decades. UN Secretary-General António Guterres outlined four emissions-related demands for world leaders and CEOs ahead of the summit:
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No new coal finding or construction of facilities after 2020
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Net-zero carbon emissions by 2050
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No fossil fuel subsidies (currently $4.7 trillion/year)
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Make polluters pay more taxes
These demands address the need to cut global greenhouse gas emissions, which have yet to peak, and a vision of a low- or post-carbon economy based on renewables (the United Nations). The summit addressed more than climate change in its talks, but these demands make it obvious that climate change is really the important discussion to be had.
Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN 2020 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
It’s called the Climate Action Summit for a reason, so here is how the UN intends to resolve the problem of climate change:
31. We acknowledge that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change. We are determined to address decisively the threat posed by climate change and environmental degradation. The global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible international cooperation aimed at accelerating the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions and addressing adaptation to the adverse impacts of climate change. We note with grave concern the significant gap between the aggregate effect of parties’ mitigation pledges in terms of global annual emissions of greenhouse gases by 2020 and aggregate emission pathways consistent with having a likely chance of holding the increase in global average temperature below 2 degrees Celsius, or 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. (pg. 8/35, UN A/RES/70/1)
Under the section “A call for action to change our world,” the resolution acknowledges the historic significance of the UN’s undertaking and that the General Assembly “may be the last to have a chance of saving the planet.” Also mentioned is the younger generation and their “infinite capacities for activism,” which are critical to achieving change and a future with “irreversible gains” (pg. 12/35, UN A/RES/70/1).
Via the United Nations
The main guidelines for achieving progress by 2030 are the sustainable development goals (SDGs); they set critical milestones for the Member States and the UN as a whole. The SDGs span multiple areas of environmental concern (see SDGs 2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15) but climate change is specifically addressed by Goal 13, which directly sets to “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” (pg. 23/35, UN A/RES/70/1). This includes strengthening resilience to climate-related events, integrating climate change measures into national policies and improving awareness and the capacity to mitigate, adapt, and reduce the impacts of climate change. The goal will largely be achieved through a global response coordinated through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Related: Let’s talk about Environmental Injustice
Due to the cross-cutting nature of sustainability-related issues and the wicked problem of climate change, the SDGs need to be addressed concurrently for any individual goal to be met by 2030.
Greta Thunberg takes a stand
The 16-year-old climate activist from Sweden made a striking appearance at the summit to advocate for future generations across the globe. She spoke to the General Assembly only days after testifying in the US Congress on September 18th and climate striking in New York with millions of youth worldwide from the 20th to 27th. In the photo below, Greta stands outside the UN Headquarters with her “Skolstrejk för Klimatet” (Schoolstrike for the Climate) sign, which has made an appearance every Friday since August 2018 as part of her Fridays for Future movement. (You can follow her activism on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.)
Related: 6 Environmental Activists You Should Know About
Via UN Photo/Manuel Elias
Her 5-minute speech, equally heart wrenching as it was well-researched, challenged the reputation of world leaders by highlighting their repeated inaction on climate change and their failure to safeguard the environment for today’s youth. The tension in the room was immense as the General Assembly faced their charges:
We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you! … You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil. And that I refuse to believe … There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures [the IPCC SR 15] here today, because these numbers are too uncomfortable. And you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is. You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you. (NPR)
To put it informally, the UN was roasted. The landmark IPCC report has been released since 2018 and global warming has been widely accepted by climate and environmental scientists for more than 30 years. It should be troubling to everyone, not just our youth, that the report was taken with a grain of salt by world leaders. That being said, Greta’s demands remain clear: no more excuses. Watch her full speech here.
Courtesy of author
United States Ambition Call
The goals of the UN General Assembly are outlined in the report, and the voices of our youth are loud and clear, but what about the role of the United States as one of the world’s largest emitters of CO2 per capita? The UN’s Ambition Calls are realistic, country-specific policy recommendations by Climate Transparency for key G20 members.
Via the United Nations
For the United States, recommended actions are to (1) adopt a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest, (2) commit to achieving 100% sales of emission-free cars by 2030, and (3) stop export policy for liquid natural gas (Ambition Call).
We’re still waiting to see what Congress will do to meet these goals, since, to say the least, the Trump administration is decidedly uninterested in the climate crisis. In August 2017, Donald Trump announced withdrawal from the Paris Agreement due to concerns about the economy. The UN agreement set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the prevention of the 1.5°C rise cautioned by the IPCC report. Donald Trump held his own unrelated press conference at the UN on the day of the summit.
Related: A Recap of Climate Change in 2019
Where do we go from here? Member States have already signaled unwavering commitments and youth around the globe will continue to hold them accountable. It is our job as college students to bridge the gap between activism and action. We’re the generation that can save the planet. In the words of the UN Secretary-General, “The climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win.” And to the UN à la Greta Thunberg: “We will be watching you” (NPR).