The United Nations (UN) has called on countries in the G20 to significantly bring forward their net-zero targets.
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, made the call at a press conference held to launch a major new climate science report.
Guterres said he was launching an “all-hands-on-deck acceleration agenda” which “starts with parties immediately hitting the fast-forward button on their net zero deadlines to get to global net zero by 2050”.
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He described the IPCC’s latest report as a “how-to guide” to defuse the ticking climate time bomb. “It is a survival guide for humanity. As it shows, the 1.5-degree limit is achievable. But it will take a quantum leap in climate action.”
To achieve this, he called on leaders of developed countries to reach net zero “as close as possible to 2040” and said emerging economies should aim for 2050.
Guterres said, “This can be done,” since some governments have already set targets for these dates.
Story was adapted from Climate Home News
