LONDON – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on every country to declare a “climate emergency,” as world leaders marking the fifth anniversary of the Paris climate accord made mostly incremental pledges relative to the scale of the crisis.
Guterres made his call at a summit aimed at building on momentum behind the Paris deal, buoyed in recent months by renewed commitment from China and the prospect of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden bringing the United States back into the pact.
With the impacts of climate change increasingly stark since the Paris deal was struck – ranging from wildfires in Australia and California to collapsing ice sheets – popular pressure has grown on leaders to listen to warnings from scientists. (Reuters)
