Their appeals, sharpened by rising seas, failed harvests and disappearing ecosystems, echoed Secretary-General António Guterres’s warning at a climate summit that the world is already within the “daybreak of a brand new vitality period” – one the place clear vitality should exchange fossil fuels, and the place finance and justice stay on the coronary heart of the worldwide response.
“The underside-line: clear is aggressive and local weather motion is crucial,” he declared, calling for “dramatic emissions cuts” aligned with 1.5°C purpose of the landmark Paris Agreement on local weather change, agreed by all nations in 2015.
“We all know it may be completed … COP30 in Brazil should conclude with a reputable international response plan to get us on observe,” he added, referring to the thirtieth UN local weather change convention in November, which goals to speed up international efforts to restrict temperature rise and advance commitments on emissions, adaptation and local weather finance.
The UN chief’s urgency offered the backdrop as world leaders introduced compelling accounts of local weather peril and promise on the second day of the Assembly’s annual general debate.
Spain – Speed up vitality transition
King Felipe VI of Spain addresses the overall debate of the Basic Meeting’s eightieth session.
The “triple planetary disaster” – local weather change, air pollution and biodiversity loss – featured prominently within the deal with by King Felipe VI of Spain, who underscored that governments should speed up a simply vitality transition.
He pressed for tripling renewable capability, doubling effectivity and advancing decarbonisation in time for COP30, the place Spain hopes to see consensus and ambition.
“These targets are as formidable as they’re crucial,” he mentioned, cautioning that hesitation can not be a part of the worldwide equation.
Panama – Nature, the primary line of protection
President José Raúl Mulino Quintero of Panama addresses the overall debate of the Basic Meeting’s eightieth session.
For Panama, which has lengthy championed conservation regardless of contributing little to international emissions, the decision was for built-in motion.
President José Raúl Mulino Quintero unveiled the nation’s ‘Nature Pledge,’ a single framework, uniting commitments on local weather, biodiversity and land.
He careworn that as a carbon-negative nation, Panama will go even additional by restoring 100,000 hectares of precedence ecosystems, from mangroves to watersheds.
“Nature is our first line of protection towards local weather change,” he mentioned, linking nationwide resilience to international solidarity.
Comoros – Small island, large stakes
President Azali Assoumani of Comoros addresses the overall debate of the Basic Meeting’s eightieth session.
Within the Indian Ocean, the Comoros faces a distinct frontline.
President Azali Assoumani spoke of rising seas, coastal erosion and intensifying cyclones that threaten the archipelago’s villages and ecosystems.
He urged equitable, simplified entry to local weather finance, insisting that small island states can not wait on cumbersome mechanisms whereas their properties wash away.
On the similar time, he highlighted his nation’s ‘Rising Comoros Plan,’ constructed on renewable potential, blue financial system sources and digital transition.
However with out worldwide assist, he warned, such plans danger being hampered by debt and international inaction.
Namibia – Linking local weather motion to desertification
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of Namibia addresses the overall debate of the Basic Meeting’s eightieth session.
Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah tied local weather impacts on to her nation’s each day struggles, citing extended droughts and floods which have dried rivers and disrupted lives.
She introduced Namibia’s bid to host the Africa regional hub of the Inexperienced Local weather Fund, positioning the nation as a bridge for local weather finance on the continent.
And he or she strengthened the necessity to implement the ‘Namib Declaration’ to fight land degradation, linking local weather motion with the struggle towards desertification.
Guyana – Nature’s tangible worth
President Mohamed Irfaan Ali of Guyana addresses the overall debate of the Basic Meeting’s eightieth session.
In South America, Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali emphasised that local weather and improvement can’t be separated.
He described how his nation is defending forests, strengthening sea defenses and advancing a low carbon improvement technique to show that financial progress can go hand-in-hand with environmental stewardship.
Guyana, he famous, has change into a vendor of carbon credit below worldwide requirements, displaying that “nature has tangible worth.”
Marshall Islands – Guarantees received’t save sinking atolls
President Hilda Heine of Marshall Islands addresses the overall debate of the Basic Meeting’s eightieth session.
For the Marshall Islands, a Pacific nation of greater than 1,200 islands and 29 coral atolls local weather change is a query of survival.
President Hilda Heine delivered one of many day’s most pressing interventions, warning that guarantees alone can not save sinking atolls.
“We’ve heard the guarantees – however guarantees don’t reclaim land in atolls. They don’t develop mangrove defenses, shore up our hospitals and colleges towards rising seas or protect cultural stability tied to land that’s slipping below waves,” she mentioned.
“These issues require cash.”
Ms. Heine pressed the worldwide neighborhood to shut the trillion-dollar local weather finance hole, notably for adaptation and loss and harm.
As COP30 approaches, she mentioned nations should not solely honor their pledges but in addition ship stronger plans that present a transparent pathway to phasing out fossil fuels and halving international emissions inside this decade.
