World leaders call for cleaner, greener planet

World leaders on Sunday called for more action and inclusion of all countries in the global drive towards a cleaner and greener planet at a climate summit hosted virtually by South Korea.

South Korea, which recently announced plans to cut finance for international coal projects, is seeking a bigger role in the global initiative to go green.

“South Korea will play a responsible role as a bridging nation between developing and advanced nations,” said President Moon Jae-in as he opened the 2021 Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030, or P4G, summit.

The two-day summit is the second of its kind following the inaugural meeting held in Copenhagen in 2018, and is focused on public-private partnerships, especially in developing countries.

Advanced nations have laid out ambitious emissions-cutting goals in recent months, as well as plans to ultimately go carbon neutral by 2050.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on the countries to phase out their dependence on fossil fuels, warning that the climate crisis is threatening people’s lives and the economy as much as the Covid-19 pandemic.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said countries must now deliver on their green pledges. “It’s a great start, but let’s not pat ourselves on the back just yet because our planet and our people need more,” he said.

World leaders committed under the 2015 Paris accord to keeping the global temperature increase to under two degrees Celsius - and ideally closer to 1.5°C - by 2050.