UN chief calls for maximum climate action ahead of COP29

As the world meets in Bonn for climate talks, and gears up for the G7 and G20 Summits, the United Nations General Assembly, and COP29, there is a need for maximum ambition, maximum acceleration, and maximum cooperation on climate action, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has stated, News.Az reports.

“By COP29, we need early movers to go from exploring to implementing solidarity levies on sectors such as shipping, aviation, and fossil fuel extraction – to help fund climate action,” the UN chief noted while speaking on climate action at the American Museum of Natural History.

He recalled that the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Change Service officially reports May 2024 as the hottest May in recorded history.

“For the past year, every turn of the calendar has turned up the heat. Our planet is trying to tell us something. But we don't seem to be listening. Humanity is just one small blip on the radar. But like the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs, we’re having an outsized impact. In the case of climate, we are not the dinosaurs. The truth is almost ten years since the Paris Agreement was adopted, the target of limiting long-term global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is hanging by a thread. The truth is the world is spewing emissions so fast that by 2030, a far higher temperature rise would be all but guaranteed,” Guterres said.

The UN chief also urged every country to ban advertising from fossil fuel companies.

“And I urge news media and tech companies to stop taking fossil fuel advertising We must all deal aso with the demand side. All of us can make a difference, by embracing clean technologies, phasing down fossil fuels in our own lives, and using our power as citizens to push for systemic change. In the fight for a liveable future, people everywhere are far ahead of politicians. Make your voices heard and your choices count,” he added.

News.Az