UN Secretary-General António Guterres convened the Climate Summit 2025 as a platform for country leaders to announce climate change commitments and to accelerate momentum toward the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 30) in November. Nearly 100 countries shared their plans for or updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which signal their country’s intentions to take climate action.
In addition to announcing updated national targets for climate action, Heads of State and Government and ministers reaffirmed their support for multilateralism and science and demanded immediate action to prevent irreversible damage.
During the opening segment, Scientists Johan Rockström, Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and Katherine Hayhoe, Texas Tech University, provided assessments of current efforts to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Rockström warned that impacts associated with a temperature rise beyond 1.5°C risk crossing tipping points, leading to irreversible change. “The window is still there but it’s narrow,” he said.
Hayhoe said while the science is clear, awareness does not necessarily lead to action. Saying we need to know we are not alone and there is hope, she called on leaders to “choose courage over fear, action over delay, and hope over despair.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized that both science and the economics compel climate action. He said COP 30 must conclude with a credible global plan to get us on track by:
- supercharging the clean energy transition;
- drastically cutting methane emissions;
- ending the destruction of forests;
- cutting emissions from heavy industry; and
- ensuring climate justice.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, said the submission of NDCs is not an option but an obligation, citing the recent advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Xi Jinping, President of China, announced his country’s new NDC, which aims to, inter alia: reduce its economy-wide net GHG emissions by 7-10% from peak levels by 2035; increase the share of non-fossil fuels in total energy consumption to over 30%; expand installed capacity of wind and solar power to over six times the 2020 levels; scale up total forest stock volume; expand national carbon emissions trading market to cover major sectors; and establish “a climate adaptive society.”
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, announced the EU will formally submit its new NDC ahead of COP 30, said the emissions reduction target would be between 66% and 72%, described work on a 2040 target of 90% emissions reduction to reach climate neutrality by 2050, and outlined the EU’s efforts in the areas of global partnerships and climate finance.
Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, called for using innovative financial instruments to implement NDCs and for a legally binding agreement on methane that could be based on the Montreal Protocol.
Many emphasized the need for a just transition that supports sustainable development, called on all countries to honor their commitments to climate finance and technology transfer, and reiterated their commitment to multilateralism. A number of speakers underscored the role of the courts in holding countries to account, and cited the ICJ advisory opinion, affirming that countries have legally binding obligations to prevent climate harm and protect human rights.
In closing, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed emphasized that it is possible limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, but only if countries act with urgency, determination, and solidarity.
The Climate Summit 2025 took place on 24 September, during the High-Level Week of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). [ENB Coverage of Climate Summit 2025]