Global Leaders Gather for Climate Summit
Leaders from around the world gathered in New York City on Monday for a global summit on climate change.
Commitments Made to Combat Climate Change
At the summit, leaders pledged to take action to combat climate change, with many announcing new commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to clean energy sources.
US President Joe Biden announced a new target for the United States to reduce emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030. This represents a significant increase from the country's previous target of 26-28% reduction by 2025.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also spoke at the summit, pledging that China would peak its carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
Other leaders announced plans to invest in renewable energy, phase out fossil fuels, and increase public transportation and bike lanes in their cities.
Global Effort Needed to Tackle Climate Crisis
The summit highlighted the urgent need for a global effort to tackle the climate crisis, with many leaders stressing that time is running out to prevent catastrophic climate change.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on all countries to "declare a state of climate emergency" and to make significant changes to their economies and societies to address the crisis.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that "we are living on borrowed time" and that "we need to act now if we want to prevent a global catastrophe."
Calls for More Ambitious Action
While the commitments made at the summit were significant, many environmental activists and experts are calling for even more ambitious action to be taken.
They argue that the pledges made by leaders are not enough to limit global warming to the Paris Agreement's target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and that more drastic measures are needed to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.