On September 20, the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres will convene a full-day summit in New York City, where governments and non-state actors (NSAs) – including businesses, cities, regions and financial institutions ­– will be invited to demonstrate their collective efforts in accelerating the pace and scale towards a just, renewable energy-based and climate-resilient future.

What is the Climate Ambition Summit expected to achieve?

This summit follows the most recent and scientifically ominous IPCC report, the Global Stocktake (GST) synthesis report which seems to indicate actions around climate are not sufficiently meeting the challenge. It is centred around resolving this shortcoming, largely through redefining global accountability in the 2022 UNSG ‘Integrity Matters[1]’ report.

As a summit designed to bar entry to “back-sliders, greenwashers, and blame-shifters,” governments are requested to come to the table with increased ambition. Non-state actors are expected to demonstrate the credibility of their commitments and actions and a commitment to a just transition. These efforts are aimed to accelerate urgent implementation for deep and rapid decarbonization across high-emitting sectors and increase flows of finance towards credible implementation.

The summit will also act as a benchmark of global progress towards expected outcomes of COP28, Dubai in December. Read more