U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday will gather heads of state and business leaders that he has identified as taking stronger action on climate change for a meeting aimed at building momentum ahead of the COP28 climate summit.
Missing from the list of 34 speakers representing countries at Guterres’ Climate Ambition Summit are the world’s biggest emitters China and United States, as well as the United Arab Emirates, the host of the COP28 gathering in December.
The summit will feature speeches from leaders who are responding to his call to “accelerate” global climate action, including Brazil, Canada, the European Union, Pakistan, South Africa and Tuvalu.
Guterres said one of the aims was to spur action from countries and companies whose climate plans were not in line with the global climate target.
Non-member states and international financial institutions that will get speaking slots include Allianz (ALVG.DE), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the city of London and the state of California.
U.S. Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry will attend the summit but will not deliver a speech, a spokesperson said.
The Secretary-General’s office has kept a close hold on the list of invited speakers. Guterres’ climate adviser Selwin Hart said in an interview with Reuters this week that the purpose of the summit was not to “embarrass” countries or companies that did not make the cut but to inspire more action from others.