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Mr Sharma will represent the UK Government alongside Prime Minister Liz Truss, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, UN Secretary Lord Ahmad and Foreign Secretary Lord Zac Goldsmith
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The COP President will attend a series of United Nations and Climate Week events in NYC, where he will call on climate leaders from government, business and civil society organizations to accelerate more ambitious climate action
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Mr Sharma will also chair the second Council of Ministers for Climate and Development on September 20, alongside Rwanda’s Environment Minister
COP26 President Alok Sharma will travel as part of the UK delegation attending the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). He will also attend Climate Week NYC events co-hosted with the UNGA to work with business, financial institutions and civil society to support greater progress on the Glasgow Climate Pact ahead of COP27.
During his stay in New York, Mr. Sharma will emphasize the critical importance of sustained action to limit global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees, particularly by large emitters. Mr Sharma will make it clear that the G20 countries need to take the lead in delivering on the commitments we collectively made in the Glasgow Climate Pact.
As part of the UNGA, the COP President will participate in the senior-level climate roundtable hosted by the UN Secretary-General and will also welcome the UN Secretary-General’s “Early Warning for All” initiative at a side event where participants will take stock of progress on the closure gaps in early warning systems for climate impacts and the need to take early action.
The UK and Rwanda governments will host the second Climate and Development Ministers’ Meeting on Tuesday 20 September from the Microsoft UN Affairs Office. Building on the achievements of the first ministerial meeting in 2021, the COP26 President and the Rwandan Environment Minister will bring countries together to discuss the priorities of climate-vulnerable countries and chart a path to make concrete progress.
Alok Sharma, President of COP26 said:
Since our meeting last November at COP26, the world has faced several global crises triggered by Vladimir Putin’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine that require immediate attention.
At the same time, however, the chronic threat of climate change has intensified with Pakistan’s devastating floods submerging a third of the country, a terrible example of our climate change.
Therefore, at this critical juncture, less than two months before COP27 and just days before the UNFCCC Synthesis Report is due, it is more important than ever that all countries honor the commitments we made together in the Glasgow Climate Pact.
The COP26 President will use sessions at Climate Week NYC to call for maximum ambition and accelerated progress from non-state actors. He will focus in particular on mobilizing private financial institutions – through the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) network – to eliminate commodity-related deforestation from investment and lending portfolios and the progress of the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and land use that was agreed at COP26.
Opening Hub Live on September 20, the flagship of NYC’s Climate Week, the COP26 President will underscore the need for further, faster transitions in key sectors, including energy and transportation initiatives. Addressing the link between energy security and climate security, he will highlight that the commitments made at COP26 to urgently expand clean energy deployments and gradually reduce fossil fuel use are more relevant than ever in the current global context.
Mr Sharma will also underscore the need for ambitious action across the transport sector by announcing intentions to launch the Accelerating to Zero Coalition. The coalition will build on the Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) Declaration launched at COP26, which aims to achieve 100 percent zero-emission cars and vans by 2035 in leading markets and by 2040 globally.
The COP President will chair a roundtable to promote the Breakthrough Agenda Report, an independent assessment of the progress of the Breakthrough Agenda presented at COP26. It will encourage countries to implement an action plan that the UK – as the current Breakthrough Agenda secretariat – has developed on the basis of the assessment, focusing on clean technologies and sustainable solutions in high-emission sectors to achieve net-zero achieve transition.
After attending the UNGA and Climate Week NYC, the COP26 President will continue to work closely with the incoming Egyptian COP Presidency and other global partners to implement the Glasgow Climate Pact and secure an impactful COP27 outcome.
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During UNGA and Climate Week NYC, the COP26 President will speak at the following events:
Tuesday, September 20th
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Climate and Development Ministerial Conference co-hosted by the UK and Rwandan governments
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ZEVs: Are we there yet? Steering the global market towards EV100
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Event organized by Hitachi: Accelerating the Transition to Clean Energy and a Green Industrial Revolution
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Breakthrough Report Launch Roundtable
Wednesday 21 September
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UNGA Side Event: United Nations Global Early Warning Initiative to Implement Climate Adaptation
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Energy: The New Climate Reality – Energy Security in an Uncertain World
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Round table of the UN secretaries general on climate protection
Notes for editors
The Glasgow Climate Pact was agreed at COP26. Nearly 200 countries agreed to keep 1.5C alive and complete the outstanding elements of the Paris Agreement. The Glasgow Climate Pact, combined with increased ambition and action by countries, means that 1.5°C is still on the cards, but can only be achieved with a concerted and immediate global effort.
The Glasgow Finance Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) brings together existing and emerging net zero finance initiatives in a single, industry-wide coalition, providing a forum for leading financial institutions to accelerate the transition to a global net zero economy.
The Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use was signed by 142 countries at COP26 and now has 145 signatories. This commitment is to work together to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, while achieving sustainable development and promoting inclusive rural transformation.
The ZEV declaration accelerates the transition to 100% zero-emission cars and vans. It aims to achieve zero emissions for all new car and van sales worldwide by 2040 and no later than 2035 in leading markets.
At the COP26 World Leaders Summit, over 40 countries, representing over 70% of global GDP, endorsed the Breakthrough Agenda and committed to working together to make clean and sustainable solutions the most affordable, accessible and attractive option in each of the emitting sectors before to end this decade.
