Coalition demand urgent action after Trump's dismissal of climate change at UNGA

New Delhi, Sep 24 (PTI) Hours after US President Donald Trump dismissed climate change as "the greatest con job", a coalition of countries pushing for stronger climate action on Wednesday said that the urgency of international cooperation has never been greater and warned that ignoring science risks "irreversible catastrophe." The High Ambition Coalition in a statement hours before UN Secretary-General António Guterres' Climate Summit in New York said that global emissions must peak now and rapidly decline to net zero by 2050 if "we are to have a fighting chance to avoid the worst." "As we approach the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement and the creation of the High Ambition Coalition, the urgency of international climate action has never been greater. Climate change is being felt worldwide. People, particularly those already vulnerable, are experiencing devastating loss and damage," the group said in a statement at the UNGA in New York.

The HAC reminded the governments scientists' warning that we are reaching limits on our ability to adapt to climate change.

"As we approach the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold, we face tipping points that threaten to throw our planet into an even greater and irreversible catastrophe," read the statement signed by energy, climate and foreign ministers of 14 countries, including Germany and the UK, and the European Commission.

Trump's speech at the UN General Assembly, by contrast, doubled down on his rejection of climate science, attacked the United Nations, criticised European green policies and defended fossil fuel dependency.

His administration has over the past few months withdrawn the US from the Paris Agreement again, rolled back power plant pollution limits and vehicle emission standards, and moved against offshore wind projects – steps that experts say weaken the global fight against climate change.

The coalition pointed out that progress under the Paris Agreement has already helped avoid a four-degree world, spurring renewable energy growth and cheaper clean technologies.

But it cautioned that "much more must be done to meet our promises" and called on countries to submit 1.5 degree Celsius-aligned national climate plans at COP30 in Belem, Brazil, in November.

"We must adapt rapidly to reduce the devastation we have already set in train and build resilience at an historic scale. We must create an ambitious adaptation package in Belem, that addresses the adaptation finance gap through drastically and urgently scaled up quality funding streams," the statement said.

It also urged reform of international financial systems to improve access for vulnerable nations and pressed for phasing out the trillions in inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and ending international public finance for fossil fuels as promised.

Those who endorsed the HAC statement included ministers and senior officials from Barbados, Chile, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Kenya, Norway, Slovenia, the Marshall Islands, Spain, and Vanuatu. PTI GVS VN VN