Article by Amanda Doyle
THE Climate Ambition Summit was held on 12 December to mark five years since the Paris Agreement, and saw many world leaders submitting new and updated climate pledges.
The Summit was hosted by the UN, the UK, and France, in partnership with Italy and Chile. It provided a platform for some discussion in lieu of the COP26 climate summit being postponed to next year. Around 75 world leaders, along with business executives and representatives from NGOs, gathered for the virtual summit.
New and updated pledges
Under the Paris Agreement, countries are expected to submit new or updated pledges – known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – every five years. The Summit marks the first time that this “ratchet” system of increasing ambition has been used. NDCs covering 71 countries (the EU submits one NDC) were announced at the Summit or just prior to it.