Climate Action in the 74th UN General Assembly week

Climate action has been at the forefront in the 74th UN General Assembly week in September. The week kicked off with the Youth Summit on 21 September where youth called on world leaders to accelerate action to address the climate emergency. The call for action stood central in the Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit on 23 September 2019, which was all about stepping up national ambition and private sector action to address climate change. These and other events that week demonstrated the growing recognition that the pace of climate action must be rapidly accelerated.



Highlights from the week included:

• The official launch of the Principles for Responsible Banking (UNEP FI) which provide the framework for a sustainable banking system, and help the industry to demonstrate how it makes a positive contribution to society;
• More than 150 proposals for nature-based solutions to the climate crisis, a workstream to which UNEP contributed and continues to promote;  
• 77 countries—many in the industrialized world—committing to net zero carbon emissions by 2050; over 100 leaders in the private sector promising to accelerate their move into the green economy; small island states pledging carbon neutrality and 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030;
• The Summit also delivered critical platforms for improving energy efficiency and reducing the growing energy needs for cooling, with the “Three Percent Club” coalition working to drive a three percent annual global increase in energy efficiency and the Cool Coalition setting ambitious national cooling targets for its members with the potential to deliver up to 1 degree on the pathway to a 2050 net zero carbon world;
• The SDG Summit on 24-25 September resulted in the adoption of the Political Declaration, “Gearing up for a decade of action and delivery for sustainable development;”
• A global consultation in the runup to the official launch of The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration in 2021 took place at the Global Landscapes Forum on 28 September; 

More highlights and events can be found here 



UNEP's Deputy Executive Director, Ms Joyce Msuya, was in Brussels shortly after the Summit for a series of meetings and events, in majority aimed at keeping the momentum for ambitious climate action, ahead of COP25 and beyond. This included an exchange of views with Members of the European Parliament. Read more here.