The United Nations convened the Climate Ambition Summit in New York on September 20th. Hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the summit aimed to encourage major polluters to increase their emissions reduction targets, particularly by hastening the transition from fossil fuels. Key discussions at the summit included acceleration of decarbonising economies, strengthening adaptation efforts, and enhancing early warning systems, particularly in developing regions like Africa. The summit served as a crucial prelude to the upcoming COP28 climate talks in Dubai, commencing on November 30, as global leaders aimed to spotlight those demonstrating proactive climate goals. Secretary-General Guterres urged G20 nations, responsible for 80 per cent of planet-heating emissions to increase their targets and work towards limiting global temperature increases to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, as stipulated in the Paris Agreement. The U.N.'s recent progress report cautioned that global emissions were not on track to meet this goal. Speaking at the Climate Ambition Summit, Power Shift Africa’s Founder and Director, Mohamed Adow said, “For decades, those of us who live on the frontlines of Climate change have been demanding particularly the historic polluters, to tackle climate change. Our language has shifted so that we can actually address the root cause of the problem. And for 35 years of international climate negotiations, we've avoided the elephant in the room-Fossil fuels.” He added that the Climate Ambition Summit offered the world an opportunity to not just address the symptoms, but go after big oil, coal and gas companies so that we can phase out fossil fuels and rapidly phase in renewables and in the process address energy poverty. Watch the press conference https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1o/k1ofr08qbx The summit coincided with Climate Week NYC and a global climate march where activists worldwide called on leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, to expedite the transition away from fossil fuels. Additionally, there were protests in the U.S. against President Biden's decision to expand oil and gas leasing. The events formed part of a broader diplomatic agenda aimed at garnering support for robust outcomes at COP28, scheduled to commence in late November.