The following is a transcript of remarks made by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell at the Annual High-level Ministerial on pre-2030 Ambition at COP28 on Saturday 9 December 2023.

You have probably heard me say that COP must mark a shift from the ‘what’ to the ‘how’.

On 2030 ambition the ‘what’ of halving global emissions this decade is well known.

So I won’t dwell on it here today, except to make this one point – about how we think about, and talk about what’s needed by 2030.

It’s high time we stop thinking of halving emissions as a some nice-to-do ‘aspiration’.

We must start treating it as a rock-solid destination, backed by unwavering determination and science.

In other words – it must become a ‘must-do’ if we are to keep the global economy functioning, and protect billions of human lives.

Most importantly – it must be backed up by concrete actions and detailed plans to turn ambition into into real-world outcomes.

Which brings me to the more fundamental question of ‘how’, and what pre-2030 ambition could or should look like in practice.

The first point is that no government is starting from scratch.

The Paris Agreement fully anticipated that national climate actions would need to systematically strengthened over time.

This can and should happen in several ways.

The next round of NDCs is due in 2025, and early in 2025 under the Paris Agreement’s ratchet mechanism.

That’s in part why this COP must deliver on two time frames: a climate action surge now, and a springboard for the crucial years ahead.

At COP 29, we’ll need to agree on an ambitious new financial goal, and highest ambition outcomes here at COP28 will be the precondition for that.

Then at COP 30, we will set the majority of the five-year Nationally Determined Contributions.

They must be much bolder, more ambitious, and more holistic.

When we think of pre-2030 ambition, the mantra should be ‘there’s no time like the present’! the moment before us is now, right now.

Every NDC provides a foundation to build on, and every year and every COP should put more tools on the table.

Putting these tools within all Parties reach must be a constant imperative.

This is why I have been so focused on finance as the great enabler of Parties’ ongoing acceleration, especially in the global south.

As the data shows us falling further behind schedule, the case grows stronger and stronger for continuously raising pre-2030 ambition, and actions to deliver it.

In relation to pre-2030 ambition here in Dubai, all roads lead to the Global Stocktake.

The outcome document for the Global Stocktake will set the course and ambition level.  It must also start laying out the ‘how’.

It must agree on the tools and solutions that Parties need right now – to accelerate their climate actions across their real economies.

And enable them to aim even higher, and develop detailed, economy wide plans that translate this ambition into real outcomes.

And that moment as I said, starts here.

I thank you.