What is the UN’s Climate Ambition Summit and what can we expect?

Next week, world leaders are due to meet with the goal of keeping the Paris Agreement alive.

The Climate Ambition Summit will take place on 20 September after heads of state and government meet for general UN talks.

Following the release of the Global Stocktake – the world’s first climate change ‘report card’ – it’s clear that some countries are falling behind on their pledges. This summit hopes to kick-start action on ambitious new commitments, transforming words into action.

In the words of UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, “The world is watching – and the planet can’t wait.”

What is on the table at the Climate Ambition Summit?

The UN says the Climate Ambition Summit represents a “critical political milestone” in demonstrating a collective will to accelerate efforts to keep global warming to 1.5C.

It follows a call from Guterres for countries – especially members of the G20 – to cooperate on accelerating climate action. The to-do list includes discussing how best to move from fossil fuels to clean energy, rapid cuts to emissions and commitment to science-based action.

The three key pillars of the summit are ambition, credibility and implementation.

Climate justice is another topic high on the agenda. While people in countries least responsible for the climate crisis suffer from the worst of its impact, they need help to adapt and recover from loss and damage.

At the recent Africa Climate Summit, African heads of state unanimously called for a global carbon tax to fund resources for poorer nations. And – with this position informing their negotiations at COP28 in Dubai later this year – where the money for loss and damage comes from is likely to be an important subject of discussion.

Also on the schedule is the credibility of net zero pledges. Countries have been asked to take “clearly defined, concrete actions” to reach net zero faster – as close as possible to 2040 for developed nations and 2050 for emerging countries.

But what constitutes a credible net zero commitment? How can the world ensure that voluntary pledges actually happen? And how do we avoid greenwashing? The summit is hoping that some of the most ambitious leaders in businesses, cities and regions can show others the way.

Who will be at the Climate Ambition Summit?

Guterres called on world leaders to attend the Climate Ambition Summit to hear from the “first movers and doers” in government, civil society, local authorities, finance and business.

It will showcase leaders who have answered his call for accelerated action. That means those with “credible, serious and new climate action and nature-based solutions that will move the needle forward and respond to the urgency of the climate crisis”, according to the secretary general.

Leaders and heads of state from the world’s biggest economies including US President Joe Biden are likely to be there but some have already confirmed they won’t attend – like UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

He will be the country’s first PM in a decade to avoid the UN general assembly. There have been suggestions that the UK’s recent decision to approve new oil and gas fields in the North Sea and wavering commitments to its Paris Agreement pledges may mean he isn’t welcome to take part in discussions.

Though other members of the UK government will be there, campaigners from the civil society group #StopRosebank called Sunak’s decision “frankly embarrassing”.

Some have also questioned the inclusion of leaders of the world’s most polluting countries, saying their participation undermines the ambition of the summit. But whether Guterres chooses to exclude countries that aren’t on track to meet their Paris Agreement pledges remains to be seen.