Technology and Science · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
António Guterres Urges Countries To End Fossil Fuels With Clear Timelines
Guterres urged all countries to adopt national plans to phase out fossil fuels with timelines. Plans should align with 1.5°C goal and include protections for workers and communities.
Accountability demand versus national transition roadmaps.
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350.org
“Those who polluted the most – and profited the most – must do far more to repair”Read the original ↗
Climate Home News
“urge "every government to adopt a national plan to transition away from fossil fuels"”Read the original ↗
One outlet spotlights polluter-payment activism; others foreground government transition planning.
Tools, timelines, and money
UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged countries to break their dependency on fossil fuels at a high-level event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, saying reliance on fossil fuels "wreaks havoc" and calling for governments to boost their renewable energy capacity. Guterres told leaders that "We are the first generation with the tools to end the fossil fuel era" and demanded credible roadmaps to end the production and consumption of coal, oil and gas "with clear timelines". The UN Secretary-General also pressed for climate finance, urging mobilizing at least $300 billion annually for developing countries and raising climate finance to $1.3 trillion per year by 2035.
Guterres warned that the world is temporarily pushing beyond the 1.5-degree warming limit and stressed that the excess must be "as small and as brief as possible." Guterres said the rise in electricity demand, "among other factors from the development of artificial intelligence," should be met with more renewable energy.
COP31 agenda and targets
COP-31 head and Turkish Minister of the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum presented an agenda aimed at turning climate commitments into measurable projects and outcomes at a United Nations event in New York. Kurum said the COP-31 agenda is based on "dialogue, consensus, and action" and will focus on implementation rather than new pledges. Kurum said the agenda includes targets to increase the share of electricity in energy consumption to 35% by 2035 and to halve the expected increases in municipal waste.
Kurum said the agenda covers 10 topics including clean energy and electricity, climate-resilient cities, green manufacturing, youth and education, food security, oceans, health systems, biodiversity, and land-use synergy. Kurum said COP-31 will launch initiatives including green shipping corridors, decarbonization of industry, least developed countries, artificial intelligence, clean technologies, recycling, energy-efficient buildings, oceans, food security, and climate-resilient health systems.
A push for accountability
Campaigners at the UN General Assembly presented 2 million signatures demanding that governments "Make Polluters Pay" as UN Secretary-General António Guterres made his final UN General Assembly speech. Guterres told the assembly that "Those who polluted the most – and profited the most – must do far more to repair the damage they caused" and said "Polluters must pay." Louise Hutchins, Co-Convenor of the Make Polluters Pay International Coalition, said, "When the UN Secretary-General calls for fossil-fuel companies to pay, you know this demand has become impossible to ignore."
Anne Jellema, Executive Director of 350.org, said the Secretary-General’s call reflects what "millions of people are demanding around the world" and argued, "We have watched homes burn, communities flood and families struggle with the costs of climate and energy crises." 3Mads Christensen, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, said Guterres warned leaders where fossil-fuel dependence leads and linked the dependence to "volatile energy and food prices" while companies "keep raking in the profits."