COP28 President Designate, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Simon Stiell on Thursday called on global leaders to take bold and ambitious climate action ahead of the upcoming COP28 summit.

With just 125 days to go, the leaders emphasized the need to align action and political will to achieve the common goal of keeping the 1.5⁰C warming limit within reach.

The joint statement from the leaders highlighted the critical role of the G20 nations, responsible for 85 percent of the world's GDP and 80 percent of emissions, in leading the way towards a net-zero and climate-resilient world. The leaders stressed that an inclusive and ambitious development agenda could demonstrate the benefits of transitioning to a sustainable future, fostering growth, poverty eradication, and sustainable development.

"The science demands a strong mitigation outcome at COP28 that drives a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and builds on the progress of previous COPs. We call on the G20 to lead the way on the basis of both science and equity, laying the path to a strong and credible outcome that provides developing countries with the basis to undertake a just transition," the leaders said in a joint statement.

"Together, we must take necessary steps to accelerate our inevitable decarbonization in a responsible manner, while enabling energy access for all, promoting sustainable development and supporting just transition. Tripling global renewable energy capacity and doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvements across sectors by 2030, including ramping up electrification and enhanced cooling approaches, is critical to enable this. We must not only address supply, but also demand, in particular transforming heavy emitting sectors," it added.

They also said that last week’s G20 Energy Ministerial in Goa fell short of providing a sufficiently clear signal for scaling up renewables and phasing down fossil fuels.

"While the discussions at the G20 Energy Ministerial considered energy transition and aligning current pathways with the Paris Goals, the outcome did not provide a sufficiently clear signal for transforming global energy systems, scaling up renewable and clean energy sources and responsibly phasing down fossil fuels."

"This year, more than ever, unity is a prerequisite for success. Globally, the world has experienced its hottest summer on record, climate change continues to impact people every day, particularly the climate vulnerable, and they are looking to us to take decisive action."

"The signal we send for the conclusion of the first ever Global Stocktake at COP28 will be crucial. This cannot only look backwards, but should also set out a collective pathway going forward. A commitment to more ambitious action, across all pillars of the Paris Agreement, is needed to ensure a credible response to the GST and to strengthen the integrity of the multilateral process under the UNFCCC as a whole," the statement said.

The G20 environment and climate ministers are meeting in Chennai to discuss issues such as climate change mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation, including technology and climate finance. The upcoming COP28 Global Stocktake will play a crucial role in shaping the collective pathway forward. The leaders called for more ambitious action across all pillars of the Paris Agreement to ensure a credible response to the Global Stocktake and strengthen the multilateral process under the UNFCCC.

"We must leave Chennai on the right path and with a clear signal that the political will to tackle the climate crisis is there."

Steill and Al Jaber said any progress achieved by the G20 will drive strong outcomes at COP28 under the Global Stocktake — a two-year United Nations review to assess the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the Paris agreement — and build upon the Just Transition Work Programme established at COP27 to ensure a fair transition towards decarbonisation.

COP28 aims to define a global goal on adaptation, a key part of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, and set in operation the loss and damage fund, they said.

COP27 in Egypt witnessed the long-awaited creation of a loss-and-damage fund to support developing and poor countries facing climate disasters. Where the money for the fund will come from, how it will be distributed and who will receive it is still to be decided.

"The G20 must affirm its commitment to achieve the operationalisation of the fund and funding arrangements. They must also demonstrate leadership in actively aligning financial flows to the Paris agreement through multilateral development banks and other avenues," the statement said.