Leaders’ Summit on Climate to raise ambition on climate action

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern joined President Biden at the virtual Leaders’ Summit on Climate hosted by the United States overnight.

The summit, held for Earth Day, brought world leaders together to galvanise efforts to reduce emissions this decade and keep the shared goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels within reach.

“New Zealand welcomes the United States’ international leadership on climate change and sees this summit as an important opportunity to work collectively to drive effective global action on climate change,” Jacinda Ardern said.

New Zealand was asked to specifically participate in the climate finance session of the Summit. New Zealand is a leader in this field: in pricing carbon through our emissions trading scheme; the introduction of mandatory climate-related financial disclosures; and our decades-long work to end fossil fuel subsidies.

“We used the Summit to call on others to follow New Zealand’s lead and do the following four things: price carbon, make climate related financial disclosures mandatory, end fossil fuel subsidies, and finance adaptation,” Jacinda Ardern said.

“Now it’s time for us all to act,” Jacinda Ardern said.

New Zealand has set the 1.5 degree limit at the heart of its domestic climate change legislation, the Zero Carbon amendment to the Climate Change Response Act.

“We continue to call for ambitious global action to reduce emissions and ensure a just transition to a low-emissions future,” Jacinda Ardern said.

“Our Pacific neighbours have identified climate change as the single biggest threat to the livelihoods, security and well-being of the peoples of the Pacific. Our collective goal, here at this summit and beyond, has to be making commitments to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial temperatures,” Jacinda Ardern said.