At the 2019 Climate Action Summit, the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, reported on the outcomes and achievements of the Mitigation Strategy Coalition. Chile has led the work of this Coalition since the beginning of this year, at the request of the Secretary General Antonio Guterres and with the support of UN Climate Change and the UN Development Programme.
In that context, President Piñera announced that 59 nations have signaled their intention to submit an enhanced climate action plan (or Nationally Determined Contribution), and he acknowledged those 11 nations who have started an internal process to boost ambition and have this reflected in their national plans by 2020, as established in the Paris Agreement (full list in Annex 1).
He also stated that 66 Parties to the UNFCCC, 10 regions, 102 cities, 93 businesses and 12 investors are working towards achieving net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. This demonstrates clearly that both State and non-State actors recognize the urgent need to take ambitious action to address the climate change emergency (full list in Annex 2).
President Piñera expressed that “Today we are announcing a historic, groundbreaking Climate Ambition Alliance. Many Leaders have shown that boosting NDC ambition is both necessary and possible, but other nations must follow. 2020 is just around the corner and we must realize that decisions need to be made now. We are the first generation to suffer the effects of climate change and the last one that can do something about it”.
While President Piñera explained that Chile will continue to lead efforts on mitigation on the road towards COP25, those efforts will now continue under the new Climate Ambition Alliance. This Alliance, launched by Chile during the Climate Action Summit, will also include strong actions on adaptation and an active involvement of the private sector. All efforts will aim to accelerate the transformation needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and ultimately stabilize global temperature rise at 1.5C.
Under the Mitigation Track of the Climate Ambition Alliance, President Piñera explained that Chile will focus on the submission of enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions; reaching new commitments to achieve Net Zero by 2050; and the implementation of measures to strengthen the protection of forests and oceans.
Under the Adaptation Track of the Climate Ambition Alliance, Chile will lead strong actions to improve the management of water, resilience in infrastructure and the sustainability of cities.
“The consequences of failing to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050 would be enormous,” said UN Secretary General António Guterres. “It would have a domino effect on every major development challenge humanity faces, increase loss of life due to extreme weather emergencies and drastically set back the global economy. It would be unconscionable to leave a legacy of neglect to our children. Instead, nations must boost the ambition of their national climate action plans by 2020, and show leadership in reaching this crucial goal for our world.”
In its capacity as host and presidency of the next United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) next December, Chile will continue to encourage nations, regions, cities, businesses and investors to act and join this multi-stakeholders Ambition Alliance towards achieving concrete results in mitigation and adaptation strategies.
It’s time for action.
The 2019 Climate Summit
The 2019 UN Climate Summit represents a significant opportunity for a cleaner, healthier and more prosperous future. Government and business leaders have come together to strengthen their resolve to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions and safely keep the world from warming above 1.5 °C. The momentum has been building since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015. This instrument provided the clear and urgent signal that we need to undergo a significant change to the way our economies operate.
Despite this, the world is still running far behind. Climate change is the biggest threat to sustainable development and disproportionately burdens the poorest, marginalized and most vulnerable. Impacts, such as rising sea levels, increased drought and heat-waves, already threaten lives and livelihoods around the globe, with disastrous consequences for poverty eradication, human health, migration, and inequality.
To date, commitments made by countries under the Paris Agreement are not ambitious enough to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 °C. Latest scientific information indicates that global net CO2 emissions must fall to 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. The purpose of the Summit is to boost ambition towards reaching those goals.
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