At Davos, Guterres Slams Backsliding on Climate Commitments
January 22, 2025
At the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued a stern warning about the alarming rate of backsliding on climate commitments made by nations around the world.
“We are witnessing a global backsliding on climate commitments that has put us on a perilous path to a catastrophic rise in global temperatures,” Guterres said in his opening remarks at the forum.
He pointed to the latest data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which showed that global carbon emissions have continued to rise since the 2015 Paris Agreement. The agreement had set a goal of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, with efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees.
“The emissions gap between where we are now and where we need to be is growing wider every year,” Guterres said. “If we do not act urgently and decisively, we will be condemning future generations to a future of climate chaos.”
He criticized governments for failing to implement policies that would reduce emissions, such as carbon pricing, clean energy investment, and deforestation reduction. He also called out the fossil fuel industry for continuing to lobby against climate action.
“The time for half-measures and excuses has passed,” Guterres said. “We need a fundamental transformation of our economies and societies to achieve a zero-carbon future.”
Guterres urged world leaders to commit to a “global green new deal” that would invest trillions of dollars in clean energy, infrastructure, and job creation. He also called for a global carbon tax to level the playing field and discourage the use of fossil fuels.
“We cannot afford to wait any longer,” he said. “The future of our planet and our civilization depends on the choices we make today.”
Guterres’s remarks were met with mixed reactions from the audience in Davos. Some attendees, including climate activists and environmentalists, welcomed his strong stance and urged governments to heed his warning. Others, including representatives from the oil and gas industry, expressed concern about the economic implications of a rapid transition to a low-carbon economy.
Despite the challenges, Guterres remained optimistic about the possibility of collective action on climate change. He called on world leaders to rise to the occasion and show the same unity and determination that they had shown in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have the science, the technology, and the resources to solve the climate crisis,” Guterres said. “All that is missing is the political will. Let us hope that Davos 2025 will be remembered as the turning point when the world finally woke up to the urgency of climate action.”
At Davos, Guterres slams backsliding on climate commitments
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