July 04, 2025 08:33 pm (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
Vijay named as TVK's CM face for upcoming Tamil Nadu polls | India says only Dalai Lama can decide his successor, China responds with warning | Pakistan had 30-45 seconds to respond: Shehbaz Sharif's aide on India's BrahMos attack during Op. Sindoor | Calcutta HC orders closure of all Bengal college union rooms until fresh elections in wake of Kolkata rape case | ‘We will cross that bridge when we come to it’: Jaishankar’s response on US bill proposing 500% tariffs | 'We slapped because of his attitude': MNS worker justifies assault on shopkeeper for not speaking Marathi | 'Marathi will have to be spoken in Maharashtra': State minister after MNS workers' assault on shopkeeper | PM Modi conferred with 'The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana' | Three Indian nationals abducted in Al-Qaeda-linked group's attack in Mali, MEA expresses 'deep concern' | Pune woman raped by man posing as delivery boy, police probe on
Climate Change
Image: IMF/Tamara Merino

UN chief hails launch of new expert group to boost net-zero climate change fight

| @indiablooms | Apr 02, 2022, at 02:44 am

New York: UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday urged private investors businesses, cities, states and regions, to do more to cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions, launching a new group of experts to help with realizing a net-zero future.

Mr. Guterres’s comments came as he unveiled his new initiative to develop stronger standards for “net-zero” pledges by partners below the national government level, in the fight against climate change.

“Despite growing pledges of climate action, global emissions are at an all-time high,” Mr. Guterres warned. And they continue to rise, he said, adding that “the latest science shows that climate disruption is causing havoc in every region already.

The key objective is to stop global temperatures from rising 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels – as the international community agreed in Paris in 2015.

Losing the race

But the UN chief warned that the world was losing the race to reduce global temperature rise.

Governments had the biggest responsibility to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century – “especially the G20” industrialized nations he said - before calling on “every business, investor, city, state and region to walk the talk on their net-zero promises”.

The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has demonstrated that nearly half of humanity is already in the danger zone”, he said. “If we don’t see significant and sustained emissions reductions this decade, the window of opportunity to keep 1.5 alive will be closed – and closed forever.

“And that will be disaster for everyone.”

He praised the commitment being made at Thursday’s meeting to create a new brains’ trust to make the commitments on net zero, a reality, in the form of the new advisory High-Level Expert Group.

At COP26, last year, the Secretary-General flagged the need for “more credible and robust standards and criteria for measuring, analyzing and reporting on the net-zero pledges by non-State entities.

Stepping forward

“Today we take a step towards meeting that need and ensuring the highest standards of environmental integrity and transparency. To avert a climate catastrophe, we need bold pledges but matched by concrete, measurable action.”

He stressed that net-zero standards at every level of activity, and strengthened accountability around implementing those goals, would deliver real and immediate emissions cuts.

The Expert Group will make recommendations before the end of the year addressing four areas, he told the launch:

Current standards and definitions for setting net-zero targets.
Credibility criteria used to assess the objectives, measurement and reporting of net-zero pledges.
Processes for verifying progress towards net-zero commitments and decarbonization plans.
And, a roadmap to translate standards and criteria into international and national regulations.

He noted that the Group of experts was gender-balanced and geographically diverse, “with deep experience across government, business, the global financial system, civil society and academia.”

They will be working in a personal capacity, “and I expect them to consult widely, extensively and transparently to hear the perspectives and views of all stakeholders”, the UN chief concluded.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Close menu