“This great Museum tells the amazing story of our natural world. Of the vast forces that have shaped life on Earth for billions of years,” said the Secretary General of the United Nations from the American Museum of Natural History in New York. “Like the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs, our impact is enormous. In the case of climate, we are not the dinosaurs. We are the meteorite.”
To mark the World Environment Day and the publication of the latest report on the State of the Climate, António Guterres gave a Special Speech on Climate Action: The Moment of Truth, in which he began by referring to the latest data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service of the European Commission , which revealed that May 2024 is the warmest to date.
"There are now twelve consecutive months of the hottest months in history (…) Our planet is trying to tell us something. But it seems that we are not listening,” said the UN chief.
Other data reveal that the remaining carbon budget to limit long-term warming to 1,5 degrees is about 200.000 billion tonnes.
“That is the maximum amount of carbon dioxide that the Earth's atmosphere can support if we want to have any chance of staying within the limit. The truth is that (…) we are depleting the budget at a reckless speed, spewing about 40.000 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year,” he said.
Y Although global emissions should decrease by 9% each year until 2030, they increased by 1% last year.
The burning of fossil fuels emits a series of air pollutants that are harmful to both the environment and public health.
1,5 degrees is not a goal, it is a physical limit
Furthermore, the latest report of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on the State of the Climate indicates that there is an 80% chance that the global annual average temperature will temporarily exceed 1,5 °C above pre-industrial levels for at least one of the next five years.
In 2015, this probability was almost zero.
The agency expects the global average near-surface temperature for each year between 2024 and 2028 to be between 1,1°C and 1,9°C higher than the 1850-1900 baseline. Likewise, it is 86% likely that at least one of those years will set another temperature record, surpassing 2023, which is currently the warmest year.
"We are playing Russian roulette with our planet. We need a freeway off-ramp to climate hell. And the good news is that we have control of the roulette,” he said.
Guterres, adding that the battle to limit the rise of temperature at 1,5 degrees will be won or lost in the 2020s, “under the watch of today's leaders”.
Guterres recalled that the difference between 1,5 and 2 °C could be the difference between the extinction or survival of some small island States and coastal communities. “1,5 degrees is not a goal, it is a physical limit,” he said.
The parody of climate justice
"The richest 1% emit as much as two-thirds of humanity", he continued, "and it is a travesty of climate justice that those least responsible for the crisis are most affected: the poorest, the most vulnerable countries, indigenous peoples, women and girls."
Guterres noted that climate chaos is hitting people where it hurts most: From the breakdown of supply chains to rising prices, to growing food insecurity and the inability to insure homes and businesses.
“And the bill will continue to grow,” he added. Even if emissions went to zero tomorrow, a recent study concludes that the climate crisis will cost at least $38 trillion a year by 2050.
"In the meantime, The godfathers of climate chaos, the fossil fuel industry, make record profits and they feast on trillions of dollars in taxpayer-funded subsidies.”
urgent measures
Guterres noted that the safest possible future for people and the planet must be guaranteed, which means “take urgent action”, especially in the next 18 months:
Dramatically reduce emissions, protect people and nature from extreme weather events, boost funding for the fight against climate change and clamp down on the fossil fuel industry.
G20 countries produce 80% of global emissions, They have the responsibility, and the ability, to move forwardsaid the head of the UN.
Protection and adaptation
Guterres noted that, ahead of the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP29), there must be concrete actions to support developing countries in creating investment plans for adaptation and putting them into practice.
He also urged all countries to clearly set out their adaptation and investment needs in their new national climate plans.
"We cannot accept a future in which the rich are protected in air-conditioned bubbles while the rest of humanity is buffeted by a lethal climate on unlivable lands, he said, emphasizing that developed countries must redouble funding for climate adaptation.
Drive systemic change
Finally, he urged financial institutions to stop financing fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy, as well as countries to ban advertising by fossil fuel companies.
“We must also deal with the demand side,” he said, reminding us that we can all change things by adopting clean technologies, progressively reducing fossil fuels in our lives and using our power as citizens to drive systemic change.