Key UN climate summit represents 'moment of truth' at a time of great political headwinds

UNITED NATIONS - Some 60 world leaders convene on Monday for a United Nations summit on"climate emergency" aimed at reinvigorating the faltering Paris agreement, at a time when mankind is releasing more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than at any time in history.

Greta, along with millions of others around the world, rallied last Friday calling for climate justice and for the voices of the younger generations who will be most affected by increasing extreme weather events to be heard. Likewise, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, under whose leadership the Amazon rainforest is continuing to burn at record rates, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison whose government has pursued an aggressively pro-coal agenda.

"There's a tension between the countries that want to go ahead to translate their goals into real policies" and those that do not, she said. Like China, India is coal-addicted, but has also set itself highly ambitious renewable energy targets, particularly in solar. Seventy-five countries are expected to bring enhanced commitments. But officials have also been careful to manage expectations and say Monday's summit is also a run-up event to the 2020 UN climate summit that Britain will host in Glasgow.The goal of"carbon neutrality" - where most emissions are eliminated and those that remain are offset by planting new trees - was considered so radical in 2015 that it was left out of the text of the Paris agreement.

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