From the rainforests of Central America to low-lying atolls in the Pacific and drought-stricken plains in Africa, leaders came to the United Nations General Assembly last week with a common message: climate change is no longer a distant threat, but an immediate danger demanding bolder global commitments.
Their appeals, sharpened by rising seas, failed harvests and disappearing ecosystems, echoed Secretary-General António Guterres’s warning at a climate summit that the world is already in the “dawn of a new energy era” –one where clean energy must replace fossil fuels, and where finance and justice remain at the heart of the global response.
“The bottom-line: clean is competitive and climate action is imperative,” he declared, calling for “dramatic emissions cuts” aligned with 1.5°C goal of the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change, agreed by all nations in 2015.
“We know it can be done … COP30 in Brazil must conclude with a credible global response plan to get us on track,” he added, referring to the 30th UN climate change conference in November, which aims to accelerate global efforts to limit temperature rise and advance commitments on emissions, adaptation and climate finance.
The UN chief’s urgency provided the backdrop as world leaders presented compelling accounts of climate peril and promise on the second day of the Assembly’s annual general debate.
The “triple planetary crisis”–climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss – featured prominently in the address by King Felipe VI of Spain, who underscored that governments must accelerate a just energy transition.
He pressed for tripling renewable capacity, doubling efficiency and advancing decarbonisation in time for COP30, where Spain hopes to see consensus and ambition.
“These objectives are as ambitious as they are necessary,” he said, cautioning that hesitation can no longer be part of the global equation.
For Panama, which has long championed conservation despite contributing little to global emissions, the call was for integrated action.
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President José Raúl Mulino Quintero unveiled the country’s ‘Nature Pledge,’ a single framework, uniting commitments on climate, biodiversity and land.
He stressed that as a carbon-negative country, Panama will go even further by restoring 100,000 hectares of priority ecosystems, from mangroves to watersheds.
“Nature is our first line of defense against climate change,” he said, linking national resilience to global solidarity. UN News
