Climate Ambition Summit 2020, co-hosted by the UK COP26 Presidency, the UN and France in partnership with Chile and Italy, will be held on December 12.
The summit will coincide with the fifth anniversary of the historic Paris Agreement.
The summit calls on countries around the world to submit ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Agreement or other climate plans as they head towards the UN COP26 climate talks, which the UK Government is hosting in Glasgow next year.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already announced a new ambitious target to reduce the UK’s emissions by at least 68% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.
Recognising the urgency to go further to tackle climate change, the UK’s new target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Climate Agreement – is among the highest in the world and commits the UK to cutting emissions at the fastest rate of any major economy so far.
The announcement comes ahead of the UK co-hosting the Climate Ambition Summit on Saturday December 12.
This new target meets the recommendation of experts at the independent Climate Change Committee who advise the government on emissions targets.
The UK’s path to meeting this target is backed by the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution, which will create and support up to 250,000 British jobs by 2030.
The plan sets out ambitious policies and investment, with the potential to deliver over £40 billion of private investment by 2030, so that we can develop innovative technologies and make significant strides in cutting emissions across energy, transport and buildings.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “We have proven we can reduce our emissions and create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the process – uniting businesses, academics, NGOs and local communities in a common goal to go further and faster to tackle climate change.”
“But this is a global effort, which is why the UK is urging world leaders as part of next week’s Climate Ambition Summit to bring forward their own ambitious plans to cut emissions and set net zero targets,” he said.
Business and Energy Secretary and COP26 President Alok Sharma said tackling climate change is the one of the most urgent shared endeavours of our lifetimes, demanding bold action from every nation to prevent catastrophic global warming.
“As a country, we have demonstrated we can both rapidly cut carbon emissions, while creating new jobs, new technologies and future-proof industries that will generate economic growth for decades to come.”
