In response to the UN Special High-Level Event on Climate Action

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK, 24 September 2025 – Today, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres hosted a Special High-Level Event on Climate Action, where over 100 countries presented their new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as a key step ahead of COP30 in Brazil.

In response, Romain Ioualalen, Global Policy lead at Oil Change International, said:
“It’s encouraging to see new national climate plans (NDCs), but the fact that they still fall short of the 1.5°C survival limit is a collective failure. Even more sobering: virtually no country committed to phasing out fossil fuel production in line with the 1.5°C limit, despite promises made by all countries in Dubai two years ago.

“Not all countries bear equal responsibility for this collective failure. A handful of wealthy western countries, led by the United States, including Australia, Canada and Norway, have doubled down on oil and gas production for the past decade with no intention of changing course, mocking any notion of justice and equity in the transition. These are the same countries which, for decades, have denied developing countries the climate finance they are owed and urgently need for their own transitions.

“But all is not lost. COP30 can be the reset moment for an energy transition, a chance for governments to move away from energy competition and toward energy collaboration. It’s time for the UN climate process to accelerate and chart a just and orderly exit from fossil fuels and to finally provide developing countries with the financial means to make it possible.”