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UN Chief Warns of Inevitable Climate Disaster, Calls for Urgent Action
28 Oct
Summary
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledges failure to limit global heating to 1.5°C
- Warns of "devastating consequences" and risks of passing "catastrophic tipping points"
- Urges leaders at COP30 to make "dramatic decrease of emissions as soon as possible"
In an exclusive interview just weeks before the COP30 climate summit, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has acknowledged that humanity has failed to limit global heating to 1.5°C as per the Paris Agreement. Guterres warned that this "overshooting" is now "inevitable" and will have "devastating consequences" for the world, including the risk of passing catastrophic "tipping points" in critical ecosystems like the Amazon rainforest, Greenland, and coral reefs.
The UN chief stressed that the priority at COP30 must be to "change course" and ensure the overshoot is as "short as possible and as low in intensity as possible" to avoid irreversible damage. He urged world leaders gathering in the Brazilian city of Belém to make a "dramatic decrease of emissions as soon as possible," noting that current climate action plans fall far short of what is needed.
Guterres also called for greater representation of civil society, particularly Indigenous communities, at the climate talks, saying they are the "best guardians of nature" and can teach political leaders how to achieve a "harmonious relationship" with the environment.
