There were cheers as they adopted the package, which is to be rubber-stamped by ministers in September.
“This is the People’s Agenda, a plan of action for ending poverty in all its dimensions, irreversibly, everywhere, and leaving no one behind,” said UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
Goal number 13 is to “take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”.
While the text recognises the UN’s climate body takes a lead on such issues, it notes that global warming risks undermining gains in tackling poverty.
“Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time and its adverse impacts undermine the ability of all countries to achieve sustainable development,” says the declaration.
Under the deal, countries agreed to boost resilience to climate-related hazards like flooding and drought. They reaffirmed a commitment to mobilise US$100 billion of finance a year by 2020 to help the world’s poor green their economies and adapt to climate impacts.
And the parties “note with grave concern” the “significant gap” between projected greenhouse gas emissions and the pathway to hold warming to 2C or 1.5C.
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How might a single threat, even one deemed unlikely, spiral into an evolving global crisis which challenges the foundations of global security, economic stability and democratic governance, all in the matter of a few weeks?
The former lead climate negotiator for the UK and the EU, Peter Betts, welcomes the decision to move COP26 to 2021 and discusses what is needed from the postponed climate summit.
Paris and Berlin have added their names to a growing list of EU capitals asking for the European Green Deal to be placed at the heart of the EU’s post-pandemic recovery plan.
Greenhouse gas emissions are down and air quality has gone up, as governments react to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Inger Andersen, has cautioned against viewing this as a boon for the environment. In this First Person editorial from UN News, Ms. Andersen calls instead for a profound, systemic shift to a more sustainable economy that works for both people and the planet.