Coalition demands urgent action after Trump's dismissal of climate change at UNGA

Hours after US President Donald Trump dismissed climate change as “the greatest con job”, a coalition of countries pressing for stronger action warned that ignoring science risks plunging the planet into an “irreversible catastrophe”.

The High Ambition Coalition (HAC), a group of climate-progressive nations formed during the negotiations of the Paris Agreement, issued its statement on Wednesday ahead of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ Climate Summit in New York. The coalition declared that global emissions must peak immediately and fall sharply to net zero by 2050 “if we are to have a fighting chance to avoid the worst”.

“As we approach the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement and the creation of the High Ambition Coalition, the urgency of international climate action has never been greater,” the ministers wrote. “Climate change is being felt worldwide. People, particularly those already vulnerable, are experiencing devastating loss and damage.”

The HAC also pointed to the scientific consensus that humanity is nearing the upper limits of its ability to adapt. “As we approach the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold, we face tipping points that threaten to throw our planet into an even greater and irreversible catastrophe,” the statement warned. It was signed by ministers from 14 countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, and the European Commission.

Trump’s remarks at the UN General Assembly took aim at both the science of climate change and international institutions. He derided European governments for pursuing “futile” green policies, defended continued fossil fuel dependence, and portrayed the UN as ineffective.

His administration has recently doubled down on that stance: withdrawing the US once again from the Paris Agreement, easing power-plant pollution limits, loosening vehicle emissions standards, and blocking several offshore wind projects. Experts say such steps not only weaken US climate commitments but also undermine global momentum.

Trump’s latest comments are consistent with a long history of scepticism toward climate science. For years, he has dismissed global warming as a hoax — infamously tweeting in 2012 that it was “created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive”. During his first term in office, he repeatedly questioned scientific findings, claiming that climate change could “change back again” and suggesting that cold weather disproved global warming.

His administration from 2017 to 2021 rolled back more than 100 environmental protections, weakened methane and vehicle standards, and opened up new areas for oil and gas drilling. At international forums, Trump consistently resisted cooperative climate language, choosing instead to champion fossil fuels as vital to US prosperity.

The withdrawal from the Paris Agreement — a move he first announced in 2017 and later reinstated after his re-election — remains one of his most controversial actions, drawing criticism from allies who argued it undermined years of multilateral effort.

In contrast, the HAC emphasised that the Paris Agreement had already delivered tangible results by steering the world away from a projected four-degree temperature rise and accelerating the growth of renewable energy. But, the group cautioned, “much more must be done to meet our promises.”

It called on governments to submit climate plans aligned with the 1.5°C limit at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, this November. “We must adapt rapidly to reduce the devastation we have already set in train and build resilience at an historic scale,” the statement said. It pressed for an ambitious adaptation package in Belém, closing the climate finance gap through scaled-up funding streams, while urging reforms to international finance that would improve access for vulnerable nations.

The coalition also reiterated its demand to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, end international public finance for oil, gas and coal, and redirect investment towards clean alternatives.

Signatories included ministers and senior officials from Barbados, Chile, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Kenya, Norway, Slovenia, the Marshall Islands, Spain, and Vanuatu.

As the divide between Washington and much of the international community widens, the clash highlights two starkly different visions: one doubling down on fossil fuel dependence, the other warning that delay risks locking in planetary damage for generations.

With PTI inputs