Leaders from 75 countries gathered this month — virtually, of course — to mark the fifth anniversary of the Paris climate accord and to outline more ambitious plans to cut planet-warming emissions in the critical years ahead.
The United Kingdom vowed to stop funding fossil fuel projects abroad. The European Union said it will push to cut emissions 55 percent by 2030. Canada detailed plans to ramp up its tax on carbon to more than $130 per ton over the same period. A handful of smaller countries pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2035, if not sooner. Three dozen nations have declared a “climate emergency” inside their borders.
“They recognize the urgency and the stakes,” said António Guterres, secretary general of the United Nations. “It’s time for all countries to do the same.”
