Enviro News Asia, New York – The 80th United Nations General Assembly featured the Climate Ambition Summit as one of its key agendas. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for an accelerated submission of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), national climate action plans required under the Paris Agreement, by all member states.
“Without collective NDCs, the planet is walking in darkness,” President Lula declared in his address. He emphasized that compliance with the climate accord strengthens multilateralism, as no country is immune to the impacts of climate change.
Guterres added that the Paris Agreement has already helped lower global warming projections from 4°C to below 3°C over the past decade. However, new plans through 2035 are needed to cut emissions more rapidly and across all sectors.
By the end of September, all 198 parties are required to submit their NDCs, with 120 already participating in this summit. Brazil has become the second country to file a new NDC, pledging a 59–67% emissions reduction and an end to deforestation by 2030.
China and the European Union also reaffirmed their commitments. President Xi Jinping stated that China would reduce net emissions by 7–10% from its previous peak while raising the share of non-fossil energy to over 30%. Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the bloc’s target to cut emissions by 66–72%.
“The success of COP30 in Belém depends heavily on the submission of NDCs. Let us make the Amazon the stage for a new chapter of multilateralism,” Lula concluded.
