Climate week 2020 to begin in New York City
Hosted by the UN and New York City, Climate Week NYC 2020 will be held virtually from today until September 27. The summit’s program includes hundreds of events pertaining to ten broad themes related to climate change and is set to be the largest climate conference of 2020.
Climate Week will prioritise strategies for building sustainable, climate-friendly systems. A net-zero carbon emissions future is expected to dominate the summit’s discussions.
The conversation surrounding emissions is controversial; the most negative consequences of unrestricted emissions tend to fall heavily on states with relatively lower overall emissions and fewer resources to meet climate challenges.
Pressure to cut emissions is coming from businesses as well as select governments. Trade groups such as the Business Roundtable have endorsed green emissions standards and are expected to continue such advocacy during the summit. Expect significant discussion of how a net-zero future might contribute to an evolving international system. Substantive progress is contingent on major emitters hitting reduction targets. With the US’s federal climate policies likely to turn on the results of the November elections, and China’s 2017 move towards a national carbon market clashing with its focus on post-COVID-19 economic revival, at least two major players’ ultimate trajectories are unsettled.
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