August 2019: The Government of Chile, which is leading the Mitigation Strategy coalition for the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit, has issued a call to rally ambition prior to the 23 September event in New York, US.

Chilean Environment Minister Carolina Schmidt, who will preside over the UN Climate Change Conference in Santiago, Chile, in December, is leading the Mitigation Strategy, with support from UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa and UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steiner, to help mobilize action and commitments from all stakeholders and determine ways to keep warming below 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, which is also required to achieve the SDGs. Together, the coalition leaders are urging efforts towards “a bold and comprehensive mitigation strategy” that acknowledges the need for long-term solutions to climate change.

The only way to tackle climate change is through universal commitment.

The Mitigation Strategy seeks to generate momentum for ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and long-term low-emission development strategies to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

In a letter, Chilean High-Level Champion for Climate Action, Gonzalo Muñoz Abogabir, urged more actors to join the Mitigation Coalition prior to the Climate Action Summit, and requested help in bringing together actors from various networks and coalitions through the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action. Muñoz Abogabir is responsible for engaging with non-state actors ahead of the Summit and in the lead-up to the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 25) to the UNFCCC, with the aim of recognizing actors who have presented plans to be carbon neutral by 2050, and welcoming new actors who want to increase their ambition.

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Espinosa has reiterated the need to present enhanced NDCs and long-term strategies that achieve net zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2050. Chilean Environment Minister Schmidt said the only way to tackle climate change is through universal commitment, taking into account differing circumstances and priorities, and sub-national entities and non-state actors in addition to governments. [COP 25 Press Release to Rally Mitigation Ambition] [COP 25 Press Release on Calls for More to Join Mitigation Coalition] [Letter from Chilean High-Level Champion] [SDG Knowledge Hub Curtain Raiser for Climate Action Summit]