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UN Chief Accuses Corporate Interests of Obstructing Climate Action
7 Nov
Summary
- UN chief criticizes nations for failing to limit warming to 1.5°C
- Corporations profiting from climate devastation, spending billions on lobbying
- Leaders of top polluting countries - US, China, India, Russia - absent from summit
In a blistering address at a high-level climate summit in Belem, Brazil, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has accused nations of failing to take decisive action to limit global warming to 1.5°C. The summit, held ahead of the COP30 climate conference, has been marked by the notable absence of leaders from the world's top polluting countries - the US, China, India, and Russia.
Guterres warned that too many political leaders have become "captive" to fossil fuel interests, while corporations continue to profit from environmental destruction. He stated that these companies are spending billions on lobbying, deceiving the public, and obstructing progress on climate action. "We can choose to lead -- or be led to ruin," Guterres said.
The summit comes at a critical juncture, as scientists now expect the world to cross the 1.5°C warming limit as early as 2030 - a threshold long described as a line between severe climate disruption and irreversible harm. Despite this, governments still spend more than $1 trillion a year subsidizing fossil fuels.
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Outside the venue, indigenous communities marched and sang, urging delegates to protect the Amazon and other critical forests. The summit has also seen calls for a "just transition" away from fossil fuels and the restoration of damaged ecosystems.
