
El Secretary General UN Secretary General António Guterres warned in his New Year's message that the world is heading for "ruin" if immediate action is not taken against the climate change.
2024 closes the ten hottest years in history, reported.
“We are witnessing climate collapse in real time. This path is doomed and we need to get off it as soon as possible,” he said.
By 2025, countries “must put the planet on a safer path by drastically reducing emissions and supporting the transition to a renewable future,” he said. “It is essential that they do so, and it is not impossible.”
Reasons for hope
“Throughout 2024, it has been difficult to find reasons for hope,” Guterres admitted, mentioning wars, inequalities and divisions that “sharpen tensions and mistrust.”
The Secretary-General explained that “even in the darkest days” he has witnessed “changes driven by hope.”
Among these reasons, he cited “activists, both young and old, who raise their voices for progress,” “humanitarian heroes” who help the most vulnerable, developing countries fighting for “financial and climate justice,” and scientists who “break new ground for the benefit of humanity.”
“And I saw hope in September, when world leaders came together to approve the Pact for the Future,” he added.
The Secretary-General hopes that the Pact will be a “A new impetus to consolidate peace through disarmament and prevention” to reform the global financial system, promote more opportunities for women and young people, and to prioritize the rights of individuals over “uncontrolled algorithms”
“We don't know what will happen in 2025,” Guterres admitted. “But I pledge to support those who are working to forge a more peaceful, equitable, stable and healthy future for all people.”
“Hand in hand we can make 2025 a new beginning. Not as a divided planet, but as the United Nations,” he concluded.