Leaders of the 20 members of the Marshall Islands-led High Ambition Coalition (HAC) have issued a statement calling for systemic transformations across all economic sectors, driven by a global phase-out of fossil fuels. They express their resolve, and invite others, to peak greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions before 2025, to have a fighting chance of halving emissions by 2030 to ensure global temperature rise stays within 1.5°C.

In the 19 September 2023 statement titled, ‘High Ambition Coalition Leaders’ Statement at the UN General Assembly,’ draws attention to this year’s unprecedented heat, accompanied by floods, wildfires, cyclones, and droughts – all happening at just 1.1°C of warming. Anything other than staying within 1.5°C, they stress, poses great “risks to the ability of those on the front lines to survive and thrive.”

The leaders emphasize that the Synthesis Report of the Global Stocktake (GST) must spur faster, stronger action to respond to the climate crisis, which will not abate “[u]ntil we stop adding carbon to the atmosphere.”

According to the statement, “[a]batement technologies have a role to play in reducing emissions, but that role in the decarbonization of energy systems is minimal.” The leaders caution against using these technologies to green-light fossil fuel expansion and instead prioritize restoring and protecting carbon sinks. They call for setting and meeting ambitious global targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency, to enable a just and equitable transition that ensures global clean energy access.

The leaders emphasize the need for drastic adaptation efforts worldwide and warn that loss and damage will continue to worsen once the tipping points are reached. They call for solidarity in mobilizing trillions in climate finance by putting in place financial system reforms “because no country should have to choose between fighting poverty and fighting for our planet.”

The leaders identify the Global Stocktake as a turning point when the UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 28) must deliver “an ambitious and robust plan to close the ambition and implementation gaps.” They further call for drawing on science, upholding human rights threatened by the climate crisis, giving prominence to underrepresented voices, and recognizing non-state actors’ contributions to accelerating climate action.

The 20 HAC members are Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, the Federated States of Micronesia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Kenya, the Marshall Islands, the Netherlands, Palau, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Spain, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Issued the day before the Climate Ambition Summit that took place in New York, US, on 20 September, the statement expresses the HAC members’ position going into COP 28. [High Ambition Coalition Leaders’ Statement at the UN General Assembly]