UN Special Summit and Protests Amplify Focus on Fossil Fuels and Climate Change

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Increasing scrutiny is being directed towards fossil fuels, as well as the United States and President Joe Biden.

William—joins the initiative as well.

The yearly Climate Week is set to commence this Sunday, synchronizing with the U.N. General Assembly. The event will feature the “March to End Fossil Fuels” rally in Manhattan, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of participants. This march is merely one among hundreds of similar demonstrations taking place globally.

“The ensuing week serves as the ignition point of an intense, escalating situation that we are all participating in,” remarked Jean Su, one of the event’s coordinators and the energy justice director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Pressure is emanating both from international leadership, spearheaded by the United Nations’ chief, as well as grassroots movements in over 400 separate initiatives worldwide.”

A significant source of this mounting pressure is Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has organized a unique Climate Ambition Summit for Wednesday. A distinctive feature of the summit is that only the leaders bringing forth substantive new initiatives will be given a platform to speak. The U.N. has yet to disclose the list of these select leaders.

President Biden, along with the heads of state from China, the United Kingdom, Russia, and France—countries notably involved in fossil fuel production and utilization—will not be in attendance in New York for this occasion.

Guterres has been a vocal critic of fossil fuels, terming them “unsustainable for human existence.” Numerous U.N. scientific reports corroborate his stance, emphasizing that the singular viable route to mitigating climate change is to gradually eliminate fossil fuel usage.

However, the language surrounding the phase-out of fossil fuels has been contentious in past global discussions. The terminology has often been diluted to phrases like “phase down” of coal, which permits fossil fuel usage if carbon capture mechanisms are employed.

“This is indeed a novel instance of soft power exertion, where the U.N. Secretary-General is catapulting the issue of fossil fuels into the spotlight and compelling world leaders to react,” stated Su. “Whether they agree or disagree, he is obliging them to at least make a definitive stand.”

However, the U.N.’s capabilities are restricted, according to Climate Analytics CEO Bill Hare. “The extent of tools at his disposal include persuasion, constructive criticism, and moral authority,” said Hare.

As per Mohamed Adow, Director of Power Shift Africa and a seasoned observer of climate diplomacy, Guterres has the potential to publicly reprimand leaders who fail to deliver substantial commitments on climate action.

Selwin Hart, Guterres’ special adviser for climate action, said nations should intensify efforts to transition away from carbon-based energy, with wealthier countries taking the lead and also supporting financially constrained countries.

Despite promises from the 20 richest economies to reduce carbon emissions, many are still granting new licenses for oil and gas exploration. This move is in contradiction with the 1.5-degree Celsius goal stipulated in the Paris Agreement, as stated by Hart.

Environmental activists have pointed out that the United States, along with Canada, Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom, are responsible for over half of the proposed expansion in oil and gas drilling up to 2050.

Activists and protesters intend to direct their ire towards President Biden and the United States during Sunday’s march. Biden has often cited last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, which allocates $375 billion for climate change mitigation measures.

“Despite wishing to portray themselves as climate leaders, their actions do not substantiate their claims,” said Brandon Wu, policy director at ActionAid USA.

“We are urging President Biden and other significant oil and gas producers to undertake meaningful actions to phase out fossil fuels,” said Su.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Climate Change Summit and Protests

More about Climate Change Summit and Protests

• U.N. General Assembly
• Climate Ambition Summit 2023
• Center for Biological Diversity
• Climate Analytics
• Power Shift Africa
• ActionAid USA
• Paris Agreement
• International Energy Agency
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
• Inflation Reduction Act (Note: This is a hypothetical link as the Inflation Reduction Act is not a real legislative act at the time of my training data up to September 2021.)