Humanity has failed to keep global warming below the 1.5 °C threshold and must change course now, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, warned in his only interview ahead of COP30. He said overshooting 1.5 °C is now “inevitable,” and the consequences will be “devastating,” with critical tipping points looming in the Amazon, the Arctic, and the oceans.
Guterres flagged that fewer than one-third of countries (62 of 197) have submitted adequate climate plans—collectively promising just a 10% emissions cut, far short of the 60% needed to stay under 1.5 °C. He said: “Let’s recognise our failure. The truth is we have failed to avoid an overshoot above 1.5 °C in the next few years.”
At COP30 in Belém, the focus must shift from pledges to urgent action: slash emissions swiftly, safeguard Indigenous voices, and reverse the loss of nature. “We don’t want to see the Amazon as a savannah,” Guterres warned. “But that is a real risk if we don’t change course and if we don’t make a dramatic decrease in emissions as soon as possible.”
The window is closing fast—but he insisted: the fight isn’t over. What matters now is not intention, but how deeply, quickly, and thoroughly we act. Read More
News Credit: The Guardian
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