"Climate Action is Not Optional, It’s an imperative" Says UN Secretary-General, Urges World Leaders on Climate Action, Promise More Support for Developing Countries
By: Olufemi Orunsola
The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres has charged world leaders to prioritize commitments to climate action, noting that climate action is not optional but an imperative."
The UN Secretary- General who painted a vivid picture of the dire consequences of climate change and its impact on the world gave this charge during his speech at the World Leaders Climate Action Summit at COP29 in Azerbaijan, noting that "Climate finance is not charity, it’s an investment."
Guterres who appreciated President Aliyev, the COP President, Mukhtar Babayev, and the Government of Azerbaijan for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to participants at the global Climate Summit, alerted world leaders to the fact that, "We are in the final countdown to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
And time is not on our side".
Guterres further revealed that the world is on the threshold of significant climate change indexes that cannot be ignored as the world today is experiencing:
"the hottest day on record …the hottest months on record …this is almost certain to be the hottest year on record.And a masterclass in climate destruction:
Families running for their lives before the next hurricane strikes;
Biodiversity destroyed in sweltering seas;
Workers and pilgrims collapsing in insufferable heat;
Floods tearing through communities, and tearing down infrastructure;
Children going to bed hungry as droughts ravage crops," noting that "And all these disasters, and more, are being supercharged by human-made climate change. And no country is spared."
The UN Secretary General who cited a poll by the University of Oxford and the United Nations Development Programme, affirms "that – globally – eighty percent of people around the world want more climate action," noting that scientists, activists, and young people who are demanding change must be heard and not silenced.
According to Guterres, "The clean energy revolution is here. No group, no business, and no government can stop it" urged world leaders to prioritize it in core areas like emergency emissions reductions, delivery of new economy-wide national climate action plans and ensuring that it is fair, and fast enough to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Speaking on support structures put in place by the United Nations, Antonio Guterres stated that, "We are supporting developing countries with new NDCs through the Climate Promise initiative;
And striving for justice in the renewables revolution through our Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals."
While emphasizing that based on the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in the light of different national circumstances, he noted that only individual countries can ultimately, deliver, on national ambition and action.
"Only you can beat the clock on 1.5 degrees", he said.
Concluding his speech, Guterres said, "Climate finance is not charity, it’s an investment. Climate action is not optional, it’s an imperative", adding that Both are indispensable: to a liveable world for all humanity. And a prosperous future for every nation on Earth."
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