The Guardian | We’ve missed the 1.5C climate target. That’s not speculation anymore, it’s the frank assessment from UN secretary general António Guterres ahead of next month’s COP30 climate summit in Brazil.
“The truth is that we have failed to avoid an overshooting above 1.5C in the next few years,” Guterres says in an interview with the Guardian. “Going above 1.5C has devastating consequences.” Critical tipping points in the Amazon, Arctic and oceans are dangerously close.
For years, scientists have warned that burning of fossil fuels causes climate change. However, the reaction of governments worldwide have been painfully insufficiently. Just 62 of 197 nations have submitted climate plans under the Paris Agreement. European countries do promise a lot, but deliver far too little. China, the world’s largest emitter, fails to make enough commitments too. The US has walked away entirely.
What’s blocking real progress? Fossil fuel lobbyists are the ones standing in the way. They are protecting industry profits while the rest of us face the consequences. Guterres says the transition to renewables isn’t just the moral thing to do, it’s economically inevitable. The fossil fuel era is ending whether the industry likes it or not. “We are seeing a renewables revolution and the transition will inevitably accelerate,” the UN chief said.
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