The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, has pointed out that cutting greenhouse gas emissions is still a pending task, since despite the fact that they must be reduced «drastically now», the UN climate summit held in Sharm el Sheikh has not addressed this problem.
«Let’s be clear. Our planet is still in the emergency room. We need to drastically reduce emissions now, and this is a problem that this COP did not address. A loss and damage fund is essential, but it is not an answer if the climate crisis wipes a small island state off the map or turns an entire African country into a desert,» he warned at the closing session.
In this sense, he pointed out that 1.5º is the «red line that we must not cross» and that to maintain this objective it is necessary to invest «massively» in renewable energies and put an end to «our addiction to fossil fuels». «The world still needs a quantum leap in climate ambition,» he said.
For this reason, he emphasized the need for countries to reach a pact at the international level in solidarity, in which everyone makes an «extra effort» to reduce emissions in this decade» to achieve the temperature target set. «We must avoid an energy struggle in which developing countries end up in last place, as they did in the race for vaccines against COVID-19,» he reproached.
In his speech, Guterres has referred to the «biblical proportions of the climate crisis.» «The signs are everywhere. Instead of a burning bush, we are facing a burning planet,» he said.
«COP27 concludes with a lot of homework and little time. We are already halfway between the Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 deadline. We need all hands on deck to push for fairness and ambition. This also includes ambition to end the suicidal war on nature that is fueling the climate crisis, driving species to extinction and destroying ecosystems,» he reminded.
«The world’s most vital source of energy is people power. That is why it is so important to understand the human rights dimension of climate action.»
He has also addressed the young climate activists around the world who «have kept the agenda moving during the darkest days.» «They must be protected. To all of them I say we share your frustration,» he has admitted.
