The UN has unveiled a new initiative titled “Climate Promise 2025,” as part of the UN Development Programme’s broader Climate Promise, which is described as the largest global pledge to support developing countries in enhancing and implementing their nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
These contributions are action plans aimed at reducing emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change.
According to the UN Media Centre, the launch occurred during an event organized by the UN Development Programme at the UN headquarters in New York, in collaboration with various partners from across the UN system, governments, indigenous and local communities, the private sector, and youth.
The event, titled “Staying Below 1.5 Degrees Celsius by 2025,” aimed to highlight leadership and collective action to address the climate crisis as the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement approaches at the UN Climate Conference in 2025.
It also sought to inspire and mobilize collective action, focusing on new ways to tackle the climate crisis, scale up successful solutions, and share lessons learned from those on the front lines.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized that the Climate Promise 2025 recognizes a critical truth in the climate battle: “It’s not all doom and gloom.” He pointed out that many countries have the will to take more ambitious steps on climate action.
However, the Secretary-General stressed the need to rally efforts to ensure that this is possible, noting that the “Climate Promise” is “our contribution to this essential endeavor,” which brings together the entire UN system to help governments rise to the challenges, seize the opportunities, and formulate new national climate plans in line with keeping the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
According to the Secretary-General, the Climate Promise has worked with 128 countries to enhance the quality and ambition of their climate plans.
He described the Climate Promise 2025 as “bigger and bolder, with more partners, more tailored support, and a greater focus on linking sustainable development and climate action.”
If implemented correctly, the Secretary-General noted, the national climate plans could double as national investment plans that foster national development.
Guterres emphasized that this initiative could significantly boost sustainable development by connecting billions of people to clean energy, enhancing health, creating clean job opportunities, and promoting equality.
National climate plans (NDCs) are the crucial means to do so, he remarked, noting that the plans are “complex,” and developing countries have consistently requested support to make these plans as ambitious, inclusive, and comprehensive as possible.
The Secretary-General urged countries to maximize the benefits offered by this initiative and called on donors to provide the necessary funding to maximize its impact.
He noted that March was the hottest on record, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, marking the tenth consecutive month of record temperatures.
He highlighted that the devastating effects of climate chaos are accumulating, and several severe climate events, including record-breaking rainy storms that hit the UAE this month, are evidence of our world’s ongoing climatic challenges.
