By Simon Jessop and Valerie Volcovici
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A marathon week of climate change meetings opened in New York on Sunday, with celebrities and world leaders mingling with corporate leaders over talks on how to drive climate action forward.
On Sunday, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres launched a two-day, climate-themed “Summit for the Future” as part of the U.N. General Assembly. National leaders addressed the group after adopting a “Pact for the Future” aimed at ensuring and increasing cooperation between nations.
Many underlined the urgent need for more access to climate finance, and some warned that mistrust was growing between nations as climate-fueled disasters mount.
“International challenges are moving faster than our ability to solve them,” Guterres told leaders at the summit. “Crises are interacting and feeding off each other – for example, as digital technologies spread climate disinformation, that deepens distrust and fuels polarization.”
Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados echoed Guterres’ warning and urged a “reset” in how global institutions are governed so they can better respond to crises and serve those most in need.
“The distress in our institutions of governance, the mistrust between the governors and the governed, will continue to foster social alienation the world over at the very time that we need to find as many people as possible to shape a new world,” Mottley said.
On Monday, the U.N. climate summit continues with speeches from China, India, and the United States.
Elsewhere, U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to deliver a speech at an event also attended by actress and climate activist Jane Fonda and World Bank President Ajay Banga, among others.
With the U.N. General Assembly marking the last all-country gathering before the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, this week offers an opportunity to advance global negotiations on setting a new annual global finance target.
(Reporting by Simon Jessop and Valerie Volcovici; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Katy Daigle and Chris Reese)
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