The Climate Ambition Summit, held on 24 September at UN Headquarters in New York, marks a pivotal moment ahead of COP30. Designed as a focused high-level event rather than a negotiating session, it calls on world leaders, businesses, and civil society to deliver new or updated national climate pledges under the Paris Agreement.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that current commitments are dangerously inadequate. Existing plans would cut emissions by only 2.6% by 2030—far short of the 43% reduction needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C. The urgency is underscored by record global heat in 2024 and widening geopolitical divides, including the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Yet, there are positive signs: clean energy investment exceeded $2 trillion last year, outpacing fossil fuels for the first time.
Outcomes from New York will shape COP30 in Brazil, where the focus will be on climate justice, renewable energy, and forest protection. For vulnerable communities already battling floods and droughts, the summit’s promises are not abstract goals — they are a matter of survival.