United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has urged world leaders to take immediate action against climate change, calling the upcoming COP31 summit a “moment of truth” as he prepares to make his final major climate appeal before leaving office at the end of the year.Speaking ahead of the UN climate conference in Turkey, scheduled from November 9 to 20, Guterres said countries could no longer delay action or shift responsibility for tackling global warming to others.“This is a moment of truths. We can no longer wait, we can no longer have endless discussions in which everybody tries to push the responsibility to someone else. Everybody must do more, everybody must do more now,” he said, according to an interview with the news agency Associated Press.The appeal comes as extreme heatwaves, storms, floods and droughts continue to affect countries amid rising global temperatures. The situation is also being compounded by the El Niño climate pattern, which influences weather systems around the world.For Guterres, whose second and final term as UN secretary-general ends in December, COP31 will be an opportunity to make one last push for stronger international action on climate change.
Scientists tell Guterres 1.5-degree target is no longer achievable
Guterres recalled that one of the most difficult moments of his tenure came last year, when scientists told him that he could no longer claim the world could still meet the Paris Agreement’s central goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.For nine years, he had continued to argue that the target remained achievable if governments took stronger action. However, after consulting scientists ahead of a major climate speech, he was told that the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases already released into the atmosphere meant the goal was no longer within reach.“Scientists told me you cannot say that because that’s no longer true,” he said.“That was an enormous shock for me,” he added.The UN is now focused on limiting how far global temperatures rise beyond the 1.5-degree threshold.Guterres said he viewed the failure to meet the target as a failure of political leadership rather than of the world as a whole.“But it’s not the world that’s failed, it’s the political leadership that’s failed,” he said.He argued that tackling climate change required long-term planning and consistent investment, but frequent policy changes in political systems often prevented governments from maintaining that approach.
Climate disasters underline urgency of action
The UN chief also recalled his 2023 visit to the Himalayan region of Nepal, where he warned about the dangers posed by melting glaciers and the risk of glacial lake outbursts, floods and landslides.During that visit, he urged countries to end the fossil fuel era, saying: “The glaciers are retreating, but we cannot.”Guterres said that some of the disasters he had warned about occurred sooner than he had expected. Floods in August killed more than 1,400 people, while another 5,600 were reported missing. Scientists said climate change played a role in the disasters.He called for fossil fuel companies to contribute towards supporting countries bearing the worst impacts of climate change, arguing that they should be taxed on their windfall profits.“Fossil fuel companies are making huge profits and obviously those windfall profits should be taxed and those taxes should be applied in supporting the countries that are having the more dramatic impacts of climate change,” he said.Earlier this month, Guterres also spoke with scientists working on a drifting platform in the Arctic Ocean.He said his interactions with researchers during that visit and his earlier trip to Mount Everest had strengthened his anger towards those who continued to deny or resist necessary climate action.
Wars and AI add to climate challenges
Guterres said climate change was increasingly intersecting with other global challenges, including the wars in Ukraine and Iran and concerns over artificial intelligence.He pointed to the significant electricity and water consumption and carbon emissions associated with AI.“The problem is that all these things are getting combined,” he said.He also described the energy shocks linked to wars as evidence of the security risks associated with dependence on fossil fuels.Despite the challenges, Guterres said the global expansion of wind and solar power offered grounds for hope, as renewable energy had become a cheaper alternative to fossil fuels.
Guterres says UN has a voice, not real power
Former US Vice President Al Gore praised Guterres for his sustained efforts to put climate change at the centre of international discussions.“António Guterres has consistently been eloquent, forceful and right on target in all of his many statements and initiatives to address the climate crisis,” Gore said, adding that he understood it was “the greatest challenge facing humanity”.Laurence Tubiana, chief executive of the European Climate Foundation and a key figure in the negotiations that produced the Paris Agreement, said Guterres had pushed climate action further than previous UN secretaries-general.Guterres, however, acknowledged the limitations of his office, noting that countries were not obliged to follow the UN’s demands and that major powers had veto authority in the Security Council.“Has no real power. We have not much money you know. But there is one thing we have: A voice,” he said of the secretary-general’s position.With the UN Security Council still deciding on his successor, Guterres said he had three words of advice for the next secretary-general: “Tell the truth.”He also urged the public to recognise the scale of the climate threat.“Take it seriously because it is an existential threat. And the first thing we need to fight is for our own lives,” he said.
