UN chief urges aligning climate action with limiting global warming to 1.5°C

New Delhi: Every country’s next round of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) must contain unambiguous, absolute emissions reduction targets for 2030 and 2035, and align fossil fuel production and consumption plan to limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, UN secretary-general António Guterres said on Tuesday at the G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
This assumes significance, as negotiations for a new ambitious climate finance goal are ongoing at the COP29 (conference of parties or UN climate change conference) in Baku, Azerbaijan, before the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) parties submit their next round of national climate action plans or NDCs by February or before the COP30 in Brazil.
NDCs are national climate action plans that countries submit to the UNFCC every five years, and are a key part of the Paris Agreement that seek curb carbon emissions and limit global warming. 
This comes against the backdrop of the world experiencing extreme weather events due to climate change, causing financial loss to countries. Hurricane Beryl and Hurricane Helene in the US, heatwaves in India, Super Typhoon Carina in the Philippines, and floods in Brazil, Kenya and Tanzania are a few to name. 2024 is on course to become yet another warmest year on record after 2023 when annual average global temperature was 1.45 ± 0.12 °C above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900).
“Our climate is at a breaking point. Unless we limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, spiraling disasters will devastate every economy. Current policies would take us over three degrees. That means catastrophe,” Guterres said at the G20 meeting on sustainable development and energy transition. “We must get on track for the 1.5-degree limit with countries accelerating their near-term emissions cuts, so that we can reduce global emissions by 9% every year this decade.”
“Emissions are still rising. So, we must speed up the just transition from fossil fuels to renewables,” the UN chief said in a statement.
As per a UN Emission Gaps report, the planet is on track for a rise of 2.6-2.8°C above pre-industrial levels and may be heading for a rise of 3.1°C, with catastrophic consequences for people and economies.
In 2023, greenhouse gas emissions increased 1.3% year-on-year to 57.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent. To restrict temperature increase to 1.5°C, emissions need to be cut by 42% from 2019 levels by 2030. To limit global warming to below 2°C, emissions must fall 28% by 2030.
According to a study published in Nature Climate Change, a 3°C warmer world is expected to result in a 10% loss to global GDP. If this happens, India may lose 5.8% of working hours due to heat, equivalent to 34 million jobs by 2030.
India on Monday called for prioritizing equity, climate justice, and the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) in climate action discussions at the second annual high-level ministerial round table on ‘Just Transition’ at COP29 in Baku.
Highlighting the importance of NDCs, the UN chief said, “The next round of national climate action plans is essential to putting the world on the right path. The G20 is responsible for 80% of global emissions. So, we need you out front.”
Last week, Brazil and the United Kingdom announced their NDCs.
“Every country’s new plan must align with 1.5-degrees – with unambiguous, absolute emissions reduction targets for 2030 and 2035. Cover the whole economy, all sectors, and all greenhouse gases. Contribute to global goals agreed at COP28 to triple renewables capacity, double energy efficiency, and halt deforestation – all by 2030. And align fossil fuel production and consumption plans with 1.5-degrees,” he urged ministers and negotiators to make sure they agree on a new ambitious climate finance goal at COP29.
“That goal, the financial goal, in its different layers, must meet the needs of developing countries, beginning with a significant increase in concessional public funds,” Guterres said.
Meanwhile, delivering India’s national statement at the high-level segment of the COP29 on Tuesday evening in Baku, Indian Union minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) Kirti Vardhan Singh said raising climate ambitions to align with Paris Temperature Goals must be preceded by free availability of green technologies, producing them on scale and availability of finance for their deployment, particularly in the Global South.
India called out some of the developed countries that have resorted to unilateral measures, making climate actions more difficult for the Global South. “The emergent situation we are in, there is no option but to break all barriers to flow of technology, finances and capacity to the Global South. The theme of this COP – enabling actions and enhanced ambition is very relevant in this context. COP29 is the COP for Climate Finance – the New Collective Quantified Goals (NCQG) on climate finance for mobilizing climate finance for meeting the needs and priorities of developing countries,” the minister said in a statement.
India said that the high carbon emission development pathways of the Global North in the past have left very little carbon space for the Global South. However, the growth trajectories for fulfilling the primary needs of sustainable development and poverty eradication cannot be compromised.
“Despite not contributing to the problem, we in the Global South are bearing huge financial burden on account of climate actions for mitigation on the one hand, and losses and damages caused by climate change on the other, thus severely limiting our capacity to meet our developmental needs. But these have not dampened India’s resolve and commitment to take ambitious climate actions,” according to the minister.
Singh called for the need to appreciate that huge costs are being imposed on a developing country like India, for undertaking the climate actions, and said, “What we decide here on NCQG must be founded on the principle of Climate Justice. The decisions must be ambitious and unambiguous, taking into consideration the evolving needs and priorities of the developing countries, and their commitment to sustainable development and eradication of poverty.”
The decisions on this forum should be guided by the core principles of equity, climate justice and CBDR-RC provided in the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement. The context of different national circumstances, sustainable development goals and poverty eradication, particularly in respect of the Global South, should not be lost sight of, he added.
With three days left for this year’s global climate summit, negotiations on NCQG haven’t reached a consensus because of seemingly irreconcilable differences in countries’ positions over issues like the quantum of finance, the proportion of money to be raised through public finances, and, crucially, who all should contribute.
European countries have been saying that an ambitious goal can be agreed upon if they expand the base of contributors to include some of the richer developing nations, such as China and Middle Eastern oil producers, which developing nations, including India, oppose.