African countries plan to call on the United Nations to declare a global climate emergency, among a set of demands to be presented at a climate summit in New York on Monday organized by the U.N. chief.
Backed by African climate change negotiators, the statement is also expected to say that countries' climate action plans should be made legally binding, to ensure the goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement are met.
African governments will also likely request more international funding to implement their plans to halt heat-trapping emissions and help their people adapt to more extreme weather and rising seas.