UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the world has neglected to keep global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius or below, a key target set by the Paris climate agreement. Speaking ahead of the COP30 climate summit, Guterres said it's now "inevitable" that the 1.5 C threshold will be exceeded, bringing what he described as "devastating consequences" such as irreversible damage to the Amazon, Arctic, and the world's oceans, per the Guardian.
Guterres warned that unless emissions are cut drastically and immediately, the risk of crossing catastrophic environmental tipping points will only grow. The past decade has been the hottest on record, yet only 62 of 197 countries have submitted updated climate action plans, with major emitters like the US and China falling short of meaningful action. Current pledges collectively aim to cut emissions by just 10%, far from the 60% reduction scientists say is needed to stay within the 1.5 C limit—a target that Guterres now says is "on life support," per a release.
The UN chief urged world leaders to "change course now" to keep the overshoot as brief and minor as possible, still holding out hope that temperatures could be brought back down by the end of the century if action accelerates, per the Guardian. Guterres also called for more representation of Indigenous and civil society groups at climate talks, arguing they're better stewards of nature than corporate lobbyists. "We all know what the lobbyists want," he said. "It's to increase their profits, with the price being paid by humankind."
story continues below
Despite frustrations with the slow pace of progress, he said the global climate negotiation process remains vital, warning that without it, only the wealthy would be able to shield themselves from worsening disasters. Earlier this month, Guterres praised the UN's World Meteorological Organization, calling staffers there a "quiet force that illuminates all the rational climate decisions that we take," per the AP.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
