2021 United Nations New Year's Message

The Secretary-General New Year’s Video Message 2021

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has set “building a global coalition for carbon neutrality — net zero emissions — by 2050” as the central ambition of the United Nations in 2021. In his New Year’s video message for 2021, the Secretary-General said that “every government, city, business and individual can play a part” in achieving the goal of carbon neutrality.

Addressing the challenges of climate change will be a focus of the work of the UN throughout 2021 leading up to COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, that will take place in Glasgow in November 2021.

After a year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic that “plunged the world into suffering and grief, the Secretary-General said he saw signs of hope, solidarity among people, the development of vaccines, and new commitments to prevent climate catastrophe. He called on people to work together to overcome the challenges of COVID-19 and climate change.

“Together, let’s make peace among ourselves and with nature, tackle the climate crisis, stop the spread of COVID-19, and make 2021 a year of healing,” the Secretary-General said, urging unity to heal the impact of the virus, broken economies and divided societies and to heal the planet.

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