- Georgina Rannard
- BBC News climate and science affairs
BBC climate editor Justin Rowlatt talks to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York
The UN secretary general told BBC News that countries must re-prioritize climate change or the world will face catastrophe.
Secretary-General AntĆ³nio Guterres gave the above interview in New York ahead of COP27, the UN climate conference in Egypt.
“There is now a trend to put climate change on the back burner, and if we fail to reverse the current trend, we will be doomed to irreversible consequences,” he said.
The COP27 meeting will bring together countries around the world to discuss the global response to climate change.
Guterres said the current problems facing the world, such as inflation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and high energy and food prices, are distracting governments.
He urged countries to bring climate change back to the center of international discussions.
The UN secretary-general has insisted that no leader should abandon key goals, including limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
He said he wanted to see Britain’s King Charles III and Britain’s new Prime Minister Sunak at COP27, adding that King Charles has long been a “continuous voice” for calling attention to climate change.
Call for U.S.-China cooperation
The UN secretary general also called on the United States and China to work together at the Egypt meeting. He said the world depends on the United States and China for leadership.
In August, China said it was suspending cooperation with the U.S. on climate change after a key U.S. politician (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) visited Taiwan.
“This is the defining issue of our time, and no one has the right to sacrifice international action on climate change for any reason,” the UN secretary general warned.
He added: “We need to tell the truth. The truth is that the impact of climate change on some countries in the world, especially hotspots, is already devastating.”
Guterres insisted that governments must provide the promised $100 billion in funding to developing countries facing the worst impacts of climate change.
A windfall tax on fossil fuel energy profits could help find the remaining funds, he suggested.
He called on countries not to reinvest in more fossil fuels and said they should support renewable energy. “The stupidest thing to do is to bet on the root cause of this disaster,” he said.
Asked if he should take part in climate protests in person, Guterres said he organized demonstrations as a young man, but his job now is not to “fight from one bastion of protest to another.” . Now it’s about putting pressure on governments to change, he said.
The UN leader said the attendance of young climate change activist Ms Greta Thunberg of Sweden at COP27 would be “extremely welcome”, although she said she would not be there. He also praised the leadership of young people around the world in calling attention to climate change.
This BBC interview coincides with a just-released report warning that in 2021 more greenhouse gases will be warming the global atmosphere than ever before.
image source,Getty Images
Climate change is causing more extreme weather and disasters, scientists say. In 2022, Pakistan will suffer the worst flood in a century, 1/3 of the country will be submerged.
Atmospheric levels of the three main greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide hit record highs in 2021, the World Meteorological Organization found.
The report also said concentrations of the mighty methane jumped to the highest level in 40 years, confusing experts.
Global leaders will meet at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from November 6-18 to discuss progress towards climate goals.
At the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow last year, governments pledged to cut or stop the use of fossil fuels, end deforestation and provide funding to developing countries facing the worst climate change.
Negotiations this year will focus on the progress already made and delivering on those commitments.