Climate Summit 2025 Accelerates Momentum Toward COP 30

Many emphasized the need for a just transition that supports sustainable development, called on all countries to honor their commitments to climate finance and technology transfer, and reiterated their commitment to multilateralism.

- EP Desk

A number of speakers underscored the role of the courts in holding countries to account, and cited the ICJ advisory opinion, affirming that countries have legally binding obligations to prevent climate harm and protect human rights.

In closing, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed emphasized that it is possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, but only if countries act with urgency, determination, and solidarity.

UN Secretary-General Antynio Guterres convened the Climate Summit 2025 as a platform for country leaders to announce climate change commitments and to accelerate momentum toward the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 30) in November. Nearly 100 countries shared their plans for or updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which signal their countries' intentions to take climate action.

In addition to announcing updated national targets for climate action, Heads of State and Government and ministers reaffirmed their support for multilateralism and science and demanded immediate action to prevent irreversible damage.

During the opening segment, Scientists Johan Rockstrum, Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and Katherine Hayhoe, Texas Tech University, provided assessments of current efforts to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Rockstrum warned that impacts associated with a temperature rise beyond 1.5°C risk crossing tipping points, leading to irreversible change. “The window is still there, but it’s narrow,” he said.

Hayhoe said while the science is clear, awareness does not necessarily lead to action. Saying we need to know we are not alone and there is hope, she called on leaders to “choose courage over fear, action over delay, and hope over despair.”

UN Secretary-General Antynio Guterres emphasized that both science and economics compel climate action. He said COP 30 must conclude with a credible global plan to get us on track by: