Climate Summit 2014
The Climate Summit 2014 , also known as the Ban Ki-moon Summit , was a special summit on climate change announced by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in September 2013. It took place in New York City on September 23, 2014 and should not be confused with the UN climate conference COP20 from December 1 to 12, 2014 in Lima.
At the summit, Ban invited leaders from governments, the private sector and civil society to work together and with concrete actions for a CO 2 to engage poorer in the world. Although the focus of the summit was more on initiatives and actions than on political negotiations between the countries, it is nonetheless seen as an important milestone in closing the emissions gap , the difference between the reduction promises and the savings actually required to achieve the two-degree target , seen and should pave the way to a new climate treaty to be adopted at the UN climate conference in Paris (COP21).
Developments and positions in advance
After the Warsaw Climate Change Conference (COP19), the Ban Ki-moon Summit was the next meeting of important state and government representatives on the subject of climate change. Concrete action was expected if the international community wants to achieve its goal of keeping global warming below 2 ° C compared to the pre-industrial level. Since the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol in 2020, expires, shall under the UNFCCC a new global rules are developed to climate protection with emission reduction targets for all countries, which in the COP20 in Lima already exist and as a draft at the COP21 in Paris be adopted should. The Ban Ki moon summit was not part of these negotiations, but is understood as a catalyst for intensive climate policy and as an indicator of the states' efforts to reduce and protect the climate . Against this background, government leaders and representatives of the private sector and civil society from around the world were invited:
“I challenge you to bring to the Summit bold pledges. Innovate, scale-up, cooperate and deliver concrete action that will close the emissions gap and put us on track for an ambitious legal agreement through the UNFCCC process. "
“I challenge you to make bold promises to this summit. Bring innovations, solutions, collaborations and concrete actions that will help us to close the emissions gap and get us on the way to an ambitious legal agreement through the UNFCCC process. "
In December 2013, UN Secretary-General Ban appointed the former President of Ghana, John Kufuor , and Jens Stoltenberg , the former Prime Minister of Norway, as special envoy on climate change to support him in connection with the climate summit and to give him advice.
In preparation for the climate summit , the Abu Dhabi Ascent took place on May 4 and 5, 2014 in Abu Dhabi , UAE , to network governments, private sector actors and civil society.
On September 16, Ban Ki Moon appointed Leonardo DiCaprio as the United Nations Ambassador for Peace, who will primarily work for the climate, and who gave his first speech at the climate summit.
On September 21st, demonstrations for a better climate protection policy and an energy transition took place in many cities around the world . In New York alone, more than 300,000 people demonstrated for more climate protection; which, according to the organizers, made this event the largest climate protection demonstration of all time to date. Ban Ki Moon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Edward Norton , Sting , Al Gore and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio took part in the demonstration .
Conference location and participation
The climate summit took place on September 23, 2014 at the UN headquarters in New York City , exactly one day before the start of the annual UN General Assembly .
Leading representatives from governments, industry, trade and finance as well as civil society organizations and local officials were invited to the climate summit. In the run-up to the meeting, great importance was attached to the question of whether the heads of government - and especially those of the industrialized countries because of their high share in climate change - will attend personally or send lower-ranking representatives. The political benefits and possible results of the summit were made very dependent on the participation of individual heads of government, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel , US President Barack Obama and other heads of state of the G7 or the emerging countries .
In contrast to Barack Obama and French President François Hollande , Angela Merkel did not take part in the Ban Ki-moon summit, but gave the opening speech on the Day of German Industry . Merkel is represented by Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks , who is not allowed to participate in the actual summit talks. Ban Ki-moon did not take part in Merkel's Petersberg Climate Dialogue in July 2014 in Berlin because of the annoyance about the cancellation . The Federal Chairwoman of the Greens , Simone Peter , described Merkel's absence as a “disgrace for German politics”. The Greens spokeswoman Annalena Baerbock wrote in the Frankfurter Rundschau that the Chancellor's behavior was “very reminiscent of that of a truant who skipped lessons because of missing homework”.
Speakers at the opening event included Bill de Blasio, Rajendra Pachauri , Al Gore, Li Bingbing and Leonardo DiCaprio .
Agenda and results
The climate summit was not part of the negotiation process within the framework of the UNFCCC , rather the aim of the summit was to bring together various actors such as governments, business and civil society and enable them to exchange ideas and experiences, develop initiatives and discover new opportunities and synergies.
As a meeting not only of political functionaries, but also civil society organizations and the private sector, the climate summit was regarded as one of the high-profile events on climate change in 2014. In particular, environmental and development organizations ( non-governmental organizations ) hoped that the summit would be the starting signal for more ambitious action against climate change on the part of politics and the economic and financial sectors. As a civil society campaign around the summit, the climate protection organization 350.org , Avaaz and others mobilized many people with the People's Climate March in New York and sensitized them to the upcoming decisions in the UNFCCC process, both in Lima and in Paris .
Web links
- Climate Summit 2014 (United Nations website)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Climate Summit in 2014 , un.org; accessed on March 26, 2014.
- ↑ Secretary-General appoints special envoys on climate change ( Memento of April 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), unicnetwork.org; Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ↑ United Arab Emirates to host meeting ahead of UN chief's climate summit , un.org; Retrieved March 25, 2014.
- ^ Secretary-General designates Leonardo DiCaprio as UN Messenger of Peace . On: un.org, press release of September 16, 2014.
- ↑ Leonardo DiCaprio becomes UN ambassador for peace. In: Zeit Online , September 17, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ↑ Leonardo DiCaprio Addresses UN Climate Summit: 'You Can Make History ... Or Be Vilified By It' . In: The Huffington Post , September 23, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014 (including text of the speech)
- ↑ Hundreds of thousands demonstrate for more climate protection . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , September 22, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ↑ UN meeting in New York: Merkel is represented by Hendricks at the special climate summit. Spiegel Online from August 15, 2014, accessed on August 28, 2014
- ↑ Climate summit: Merkel angered UN Secretary General with rejection. Spiegel Online from August 17, 2014, accessed on August 28, 2014.
- ↑ Green leader Peter criticizes Merkel's absence from the climate summit. In: Die Zeit , September 23, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014
- ↑ Guest contribution to the climate summit: Merkel's indictment of poverty in the climate. In: Frankfurter Rundschau , September 22, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ↑ Opening Ceremony . From: un.org, September 23, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ↑ Leonardo DiCaprio at the UN summit on climate change in New York: "You can make history" . In: The Huffington Post , September 23, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ↑ Two new reports, one conclusion: pressing need to divest from fossil fuels , 350.org press release of March 5, 2014; visited March 27, 2014.