UN chief convenes international climate summit

Delegates will gather in New York today as part of international climate talks convened by the UN Secretary General António Guterres to accelerate climate action.

Ahead of the summit, Rachel Kennerley, international climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:

“A day hardly passes without reports of extreme weather wreaking havoc somewhere in the world – such as the devastating floods in Libya – or new scientific evidence that climate change is accelerating much faster than predicted.

“Countless missed opportunities to act have left us hurtling towards an increasingly uncertain future. Yet our leaders can still avert the worst of climate breakdown so long as they move quickly to make deep emissions cuts this decade, starting now.

“At the UN summit, we must see global leaders committing to phase out coal, oil and gas for good. Countries with the greatest climate responsibility – such as the UK – must lead the way, and honour the international commitment to support nations that have done least to cause climate breakdown with adequate financing. The absolute bare minimum would be the Prime Minister’s presence at the talks, and yet this looks increasingly unlikely.”