Secretary-General's Remarks to the High-Level Dialogue of the Americas on Climate Action

I am pleased to join such a distinguished company at this important meeting.

By bringing the Americas together to discuss climate action, they are manifesting the spirit of multilateral cooperation that we all need.

COP26 is less than 60 days away.

We need to act together, together, to overcome the current impasse.

Many countries in the region are already showing their ambition to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and working to adapt to climate disruptions, even as they face the social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I will continue to advocate that the international development finance architecture must offer options that link climate action to debt sustainability in order to create jobs and alleviate debt difficulties.

Know that you have the full support of the United Nations system to address the triple threat of COVID-19, climate change and debt.

In 2021, it is critical to align COVID-19 recovery packages with the 1.5-degree temperature target and promote resilience to the consequences of climate change.

As we approach COP26, I want to highlight three essential areas we need to focus on.

First of all, we must keep the 1.5 degree target within reach.

At present, we are a long way from achieving it.

Pledges to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 must be accompanied, well before COP26, by ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions with targets for 2030.

Commitments must be integrated into regulatory, policy and legislative frameworks to accelerate the transition to net zero emissions and the move away from fossil fuels.

The use of coal must be unequivocally phased out by 2030 in OECD countries and by 2040 for all others.

Latin American and Caribbean nations, like most developing countries, need support to make a transition to renewable energy and resilient economies.

A just transition means ensuring that workers in high-carbon and fossil fuel-related sectors have decent alternative options, are supported for retraining and have social safety nets.

Second, we need a breakthrough on adaptation and resilience.

I am calling on donors and multilateral development banks to allocate at least 50 per cent of their climate support to this end.

Adaptation continues to be the neglected half of the climate equation, with only 21 per cent of climate finance devoted to it.

Developing countries already need $70 billion dollars a year, and that figure could more than quadruple by the end of this decade.

Third, developed nations must deliver on the solidarity agenda.

That means support to developing countries on vaccines, debt and liquidity, as well as climate finance.

We need a credible plan for delivering on the $100 billion dollar commitment made over a decade ago.

We need it well ahead of Glasgow, to restore trust.

And we need multilateral development banks to align their portfolios with the 1.5-degree goal.

That means growing their adaptation portfolios, facilitating access to climate finance and being prepared to take more risk.

Excellencies,

In closing, I commend the leadership of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on climate action.

I count on you to send a strong signal to COP26 that we can achieve a resilient net zero future.

Thank you.