All nations need to urgently address climate crisis:Alba

Governments of all countries need to urgently address the climate crisis and reduce carbon emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 to save millions of people around the world, UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Climate Action Summit Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba said on Tuesday.

Briefing the media ahead of the upcoming 2019 Climate Action Summit in New York, Alba called on leaders across governments, businesses and civil society to bring bold actions and greater ambition to the summit.

He said the global temperature is increasing by 3 degrees, which cannot be allowed and has to be brought down to 1.5 degrees.

"The climate crisis and the air pollution crisis are driven by the same factors and must be tackled by joint action. Governments at all levels have both an urgent need and huge opportunity not only yo address the climate crisis, but also to improve the health and save lives of millions of people around the world while making progress on sustainable development goals," he said.

The Climate Action Summit has been convened by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York on September 23.

Alba, who is on a two-day visit to India to meet representatives across government, business and civil society, announced the summit at the UN House here.

"The climate is moving faster than we are. We are looking at the transformation needed in the field of climate financing, socio and political, to move forward with the focus on reducing carbon emission. We need to reduce at least 45 per cent of carbon emission by 2030," he said.

Twenty-eight companies with a total market capitalisation of 1.3 trillion USD have committed themselves to more ambitious climate targets aligned with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degree celsius above pre-industrial levels and reaching net zero emissions by no later than 2050, Alba said.