Protection of Global Climate for Present and Future Generations of Humankind

A/RES/78/153View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 18dProtection of global climate for present and future generations of humankind, published in 2023.

What other versions does this mandate have?

17 versions · 2010–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/138

2025A/RES/80/138Protection of global climate for present and future generations of humankindLatestCompare with previous version
2024A/RES/79/206Protection of global climate for present and future generations of humankindCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/153Protection of global climate for present and future generations of humankindCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/77/165Protection of global climate for present and future generations of humankindCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/205Protection of global climate for present and future generations of humankindCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 topics

Climate Change Conferences Disaster Prevention Environmental Agreements Environmental Protection Sustainable Development

What does this mandate say?

40 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time, expresses profound alarm that the emissions of greenhouse gases continue to rise globally, remains deeply concerned that all countries, particularly developing countries, are vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change and are already experiencing an increase in such impacts, including persistent drought and extreme weather events, land degradation, sea level rise, coastal erosion, ocean acidification and the retreat of mountain glaciers, further threatening food security, water availability and livelihoods, and efforts to eradicate poverty in all its forms and dimensions and achieve sustainable development, recognizes the substantial risks posed by climate change to health, and emphasizes in this regard that mitigation of and adaptation to climate change represent an immediate and urgent global priority;

Urges Member States to adopt a climate- and environment-responsive approach to COVID-19 recovery efforts, including by aligning investments and domestic policies with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the goals of the Paris Agreement for its parties, and the ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in order to achieve a sustainable, resilient and inclusive recovery, and accelerate a transition to low-emission, climate-resilient, inclusive and sustainable economies and societies, in this regard stresses the need to strengthen the global response to climate change by increasing the ability of countries to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change, fostering resilience, accelerating the full implementation of all the Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda and integrating climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning, urges parties to the Paris Agreement to communicate or update ambitious nationally determined contributions, noting that article 4, paragraph 3, of the Agreement states that each party’s successive nationally determined contribution will represent a progression beyond the party’s then current nationally determined contribution and reflect its highest possible ambition, reflecting its common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances, encourages parties to formulate and communicate long-term strategies on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge and with a view to achieving the purpose of the Agreement and make financial flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development, and stresses the importance of mobilizing means of implementation from all sources, including adequate financial support, inter alia, for mitigation and adaptation, taking into account the specific needs and special circumstances of developing countries, especially those that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change;

Encourages all the parties to the Paris Agreement to fully implement the Agreement, and highlights the synergies between the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Agreement;

Recalls that the Paris Agreement, in enhancing the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including its objective, aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, including by holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change, increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development in a manner that does not threaten food production, and making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development;

Reaffirms the Paris Agreement temperature goal of holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, recognizes that the impacts of climate change will be much lower at the temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared with 2 degrees Celsius, and resolves to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, also recognizes that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius requires rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, including reducing global carbon dioxide emissions, by 43 per cent by 2030 relative to the 2019 level, and to net zero by or around mid-century, and further recognizes that this requires accelerated action in this critical decade, on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge and equity, reflecting common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in the light of different national circumstances and in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, and, in accordance with article 4 of the Paris Agreement, reiterates the aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, recognizing that peaking will take longer for developing countries, and to undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with best available science, so as to achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century, on the basis of equity, and in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty;

Recalls, in line with decisions 1/CMA.3 and 1/CMA.4, the call to accelerate the development, deployment and dissemination of technologies and the adoption of policies to transition towards low-emission energy systems, including by rapidly scaling up the deployment of clean power generation and energy efficiency measures, including accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable, in line with national circumstances, and recognizing the need for support towards a just transition;

Looks forward to the conclusion of the first global stocktake at the fifth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, at the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to assess the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the Paris Agreement and its long-term goals, and recognizes the technical work conducted in 2022 and 2023;

Welcomes the nationally determined contributions submitted to date, and recalls that the regular updating of such contributions will reflect the highest possible level of ambition, in the light of different national circumstances, and provide the information necessary for clarity, transparency and understanding, in accordance with the relevant decisions;

Notes with concern that, according to the synthesis report on nationally determined contributions published by the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the nationally determined contributions presented thus far by the parties to the Paris Agreement are not sufficient and that action is needed to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, urges parties that have not yet communicated new or updated nationally determined contributions to do so as soon as possible, and encourages parties to communicate in 2025 nationally determined contributions with an end date of 2035, in 2030 a nationally determined contribution with an end date of 2040 and so forth every five years thereafter;

Recalls article 3 and article 4, paragraphs 3, 4, 5 and 11, of the Paris Agreement, requests countries to revisit and strengthen the 2030 targets in their nationally determined contributions, as necessary, to align with the Paris Agreement temperature goal by the end of 2023, taking into account different national circumstances, and urges parties that have not yet done so to communicate, as soon as possible, long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies referred to in article 4, paragraph 19, of the Paris Agreement towards just transitions to net-zero emissions by or around mid-century, taking into account different national circumstances, and to update the strategies regularly, as appropriate, in line with the best available science;

Notes with serious concern the findings from the synthesis report of the sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the contribution of Working Group I, in which the Intergovernmental Panel indicates that global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius and 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels will be exceeded during the twenty-first century, unless deep, rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions occur in this decade, from the contribution of Working Group II, in which the Intergovernmental Panel indicates that human-induced climate change has caused widespread adverse impacts in every region across the world and related losses and damages to nature and people reaching some adaptation limits and that adaptation plays a key role in reducing exposure and vulnerability to climate change, and the contribution of Working Group III, in which the Intergovernmental Panel stressed that accelerated and equitable climate action in mitigating and adapting to climate change impacts is critical to sustainable development;

Emphasizes the importance of just transition pathways as a means to enhance ambition and implementation and ensure the social and economic benefits of transitions, consistent with the Paris Agreement, and welcomes the establishment of the work programme on just transition pathways, in accordance with decisions 1/CP.27 and 1/CMA.4;

Stresses the urgent need to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change and extreme weather events, and in this regard urges Member States to continue to engage in adaptation planning processes and to enhance cooperation at all levels, including with regard to disaster risk reduction;

Recalls the Paris Agreement work programme, commonly referred to as the Katowice Rulebook, adopted at the third part of the first session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, and welcomes with appreciation the completion of the Paris Agreement work programme by the third session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, including the adoption of the decisions relating to article 4, paragraphs 10 and 12, article 6, paragraphs 2, 4 and 8, article 7, paragraph 12, and article 13;

Takes note of the report of the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on the twenty-seventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention;

Emphasizes the need for collective efforts to promote sustainable development in its three dimensions in an innovative, coordinated, environmentally sound, open and shared manner;

Underlines the need to address the economic, social and environmental impacts of climate change, emphasizes the need for action at all levels, to enhance efforts to build resilience through, inter alia, the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of ecosystems, and to build resilience to reduce the impacts and costs of climate-related disasters, and in that regard encourages Governments and relevant organizations to integrate nature-based solutions, ecosystem-based approaches and other management and conservation approaches, in line with United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 5/5 of 2 March 2022, to climate change adaptation and mitigation and disaster risk reduction into their strategic planning, as appropriate, across sectors;

Recognizes that enhanced access to international climate finance is important to support mitigation and adaptation efforts in developing countries, especially those that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, and also recognizes the ongoing efforts in this regard;

Reiterates articles 2, 4 and 9 of the Paris Agreement, and highlights that about 4 trillion United States dollars per year need to be invested in clean energy technologies until 2030 to be able to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, and that, furthermore, a global transformation to a low-carbon economy is expected to require investment of at least 4 trillion to 6 trillion United States dollars per year;

Highlights that delivering such funding will require a transformation of the financial system and its structures and processes, engaging Governments, central banks, commercial banks, institutional investors and other financial actors;

Notes with concern the growing gap between the needs of developing country parties, in particular those due to the increasing impacts of climate change and their increased indebtedness, and the support provided and mobilized for their efforts to implement their nationally determined contributions, highlighting that such needs are currently estimated at 5.8 trillion to 5.9 trillion United States dollars for the pre-2030 period;

Notes with deep regret that the goal of developed country parties to mobilize jointly 100 billion United States dollars per year by 2020 in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation has not yet been met, while welcoming the increased pledges made by many developed country parties, and the “Climate finance delivery plan: meeting the US$100 billion goal” and the collective actions contained therein, urges developed country parties to fully deliver on the goal of 100 billion United States dollars urgently and through to 2025, and emphasizes the importance of transparency in the implementation of their pledges;

Recalls the decisions to set a new collective quantified goal on climate finance from a floor of 100 billion United States dollars per year and prior to 2025, and welcomes the work of the ad hoc work programme for 2022–2024 for this purpose, under the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement;

Notes with concern that the current provision of climate finance for adaptation remains insufficient to respond to worsening climate change impacts in developing country parties, welcomes the recent pledges made by many developed country parties to increase their provision of climate finance to support adaptation in developing country parties in response to their growing needs, including contributions made to the Adaptation Fund, the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Green Climate Fund, which represent significant progress compared with previous efforts, and urges developed country parties to at least double their collective provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing country parties from 2019 levels by 2025, in the context of achieving a balance between mitigation and adaptation in the provision of scaled-up financial resources, emphasizes the urgency of scaling up action and support, including finance, capacity-building and technology transfer, to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change in line with the best available science, taking into account the priorities and needs of developing country parties, and in this regard recognizes the importance of the global goal on adaptation for effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, welcomes the launch of the comprehensive two-year Glasgow-Sharm el-Sheikh work programme on the global goal on adaptation, and urges the finalization and adoption of a framework for the global goal on adaptation at the fifth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement;

Calls upon multilateral development banks, other financial institutions and the private sector to enhance finance mobilization in order to deliver the scale of resources needed to achieve climate plans, particularly for adaptation, and encourages parties to continue to explore innovative approaches and instruments for mobilizing finance for adaptation from private sources;

Recalls that, in the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan, the shareholders of multilateral development banks and international financial institutions were called upon to reform multilateral development bank practices and priorities, align and scale up funding, ensure simplified access and mobilize climate finance from various sources, and encourages multilateral development banks to define a new vision and commensurate operational model, channels and instruments that are fit for the purpose of adequately addressing the global climate emergency, including deploying a full suite of instruments, from grants to guarantees and non-debt instruments, taking into account debt burdens, and to address risk appetite, with a view to substantially increasing climate finance;

Welcomes the consideration, for the first time, of matters relating to funding arrangements responding to loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, including a focus on addressing loss and damage, by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, also welcomes the adoption of decisions 2/CP.27 and 2/CMA.4 on funding arrangements for responding to loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, including a focus on addressing loss and damage, and urges parties to come to agreement on the operationalization of the new funding arrangements for responding to loss and damage, including the fund referenced therein, at the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties;

Also welcomes the adoption of decisions 11/CP.27 and 12/CMA.4, establishing the institutional arrangements of the Santiago network for averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, which was established to catalyse technical assistance for the implementation of relevant approaches for averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change at the local, national and regional levels in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, and affirms its determination to fully operationalize the Santiago network at the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the fifth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, including by selecting the host of the secretariat and electing the members of the advisory board;

Reiterates the urgency of scaling up action and support, as appropriate, including finance, technology transfer and capacity-building, for implementing approaches for averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change in developing country parties that are particularly vulnerable to these effects;

Urges Member States, taking into account that women and girls are often disproportionately affected by climate change owing to gender inequalities and the dependence of many women on natural resources for their livelihoods, to promote the integration of a gender perspective into environmental and climate change policies and to strengthen mechanisms and provide adequate resources towards achieving the full and equal participation of women in decision-making at all levels on environmental issues, stresses the need to address the challenges posed by climate change that affect women and girls in particular, and calls upon countries to strengthen the implementation of the enhanced Lima work programme on gender and its gender action plan adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at its twenty-fifth session;

Notes the ongoing work and potential of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, established for the exchange of experiences and sharing of best practices on mitigation and adaptation in a holistic and integrated manner, recalls decision 2/CP.23 of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Platform’s purpose and functions and decision 16/CP.26 of the Conference of the Parties on the continuation of the mandate of the Facilitative Working Group of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform, and also recalls decision 1/CMA.3 of the Conference of the Parties on the active involvement of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in designing and implementing climate action;

Recognizes the role of children and youth as agents of change in addressing and responding to climate change, also recognizing the importance of intergenerational equity and maintaining the stability of the climate system for future generations;

Also recognizes the invitation to the relevant work programmes and constituted bodies under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to consider how to integrate and strengthen ocean-based action in their existing mandates and workplans and to report on these activities within the existing reporting processes, as appropriate, and welcomes in this regard the second annual dialogue, held in Bonn, Germany, in June 2023;

Recalls that 147 countries and one regional economic integration organization have accepted or ratified the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, welcomes the entry into force of the Amendment on 31 December 2020, which was the end date of the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, and strongly urges countries that have accepted or ratified the Amendment to implement their pre-2020 commitments to the fullest extent as soon as possible;

Welcomes the convening of the twenty-seventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and the fourth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, presided over by the Government of Egypt in Sharm el-Sheikh, from 6 to 20 November 2022, and the adoption of their outcomes by parties, including the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan, and urge their full implementation;

Looks forward to the hosting by the Government of the United Arab Emirates of the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the eighteenth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and the fifth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, from 30 November to 12 December 2023;

Acknowledges the work undertaken under the auspices of the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, and encourages non-party stakeholders to scale up their efforts to address and respond to climate change;

Recalls the action plan for integrating sustainable development practices into Secretariat-wide operations and facilities management submitted by the Secretary-General, as endorsed in resolution 72/219;

Decides to include in the United Nations calendar of conferences and meetings for the years 2024 and 2025 the sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention and its subsidiary bodies envisaged for the years 2024 and 2025;

Invites the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to report, through the Secretary-General, to the General Assembly at its seventy-ninth session, on the work of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, and decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-ninth session, under the item entitled “Sustainable development”, the sub-item entitled “Protection of global climate for present and future generations of humankind”.

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