The United Nations (UN) Chief, Antonio Guterres, has spoken out over the increasing temperature conditions being witnessed around the globe and the soaring rise in greenhouse gas emissions.
To this effect, Guterres called for an urgent gathering of stakeholders, leaders, and cabinet ministers to speak to their commitment to the Paris Agreement and how they plan to deliver on it.
While considering the gathering a necessary forum, Guterres made his stance known, calling the forum “a no-nonsense” climate summit. To pronounce the seriousness of the UN, Guterres said that the criteria for speaking at the summit lie in each country’s dedication and plan to achieve “zero greenhouse emissions.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Guterres said, “Tomorrow, I will welcome credible first movers and doers to our Climate Ambition Summit.”
And on Tuesday night, the list of 41 approved speakers was made public, excluding names from some of the most industrialized countries in the world.
The UN said it received over 100 applications, including from the U.S., the United Kingdom, India, Japan, and China.
Though this year’s UN General Assembly had some leaders of the developed economies missing, some other important countries, such as U.S. President Joe Biden and John Kerry, attended.
Kerry, who is President Biden’s climate envoy, will be attending the summit, which will take place on the side of the UN General Assembly session. It is expected that Kerry will not be allowed to address the climate summit, considering Guterres hard stance against defaulters, mostly big emitters.
It is yet to be seen if Guterres hard stance will lead to a sincere and open discussion on climate change and the eventual regime of commitment to the Paris Agreement.
