UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the climate crisis - Media Stakeout

Good morning.

The Secretary General makes some remarks on climate and then we'll take a few questions.

Ladies and gentlemen of the media, may I first of all express to the government and people of Turquiye my full solidarity in these difficult moments. President Lula of Brazil and I just concluded a unique meeting with a cross section of world leaders focused on climate action and the just transition. The gathering included 17 participants at level of heads of state and government, representing some of the world's largest economy, including China and the European Union, and some of the world's most climate vulnerable countries. We also had leaders currently chairing important regional partnership, the African Union, ASEAN and the alliance of Small Island States and CARICOM along with many others. It was among the most diverse meetings the heads of state focused exclusively on climate in some time yet I heard a unifying message. Yes, our world faces massive headwinds and the multitude of crises, but we cannot allow climate commitments to be blown off course. We must keep building momentum for action at COP30 in Brazil. And today was an important part of that effort. We don't have a moment to lose. No region is being spared from the ravages of accelerating climate catastrophes. And the crisis is deepening poverty, displacing communities and fuelling conflict and instability. At the same time, countries are waking up to a clear Renewables are the economic opportunity of the century. The centers and fossil fuel interests may try to stand in the way, but as we heard today, the world is moving forward full speed ahead. No group or government can stop the clean energy revolution. Science is on our side and economics have shifted. Prices for renewables have plummeted and the sector is booming, creating jobs and boosting competitiveness and growth worldwide. The pathway out of climate hell is paved by renewables. They offer the surest route to energy sovereignty and security and ending dependence on volatile and expensive fossil fuel imports. We also know collective climate action works. Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the projected global warming curve has been bent down from over 4 degrees of temperature rise within this century to 2.6 degrees if current national climate action plans are fully implemented. But that is catastrophic. So we must go from further and faster. Today I urged leaders to take action on two fronts. First, to step up efforts to submit the strongest possible national climate plans well ahead of COP 30. And leaders today committed to put forward ambitious and robust plans as soon as possible. What was a strong message of hope? These new climate plans offer a unique opportunity to lay out a bold vision for for a just green transition over the next decades. They should align with 1.5 degrees and set emissions reduction targets that cover all greenhouse gases and the whole economy, as several today mentioned. Clearly. Most importantly, they should help speed up a just transition away from fossil fuels to renewables and link national energy and development strategies with climate goals and signal to policymakers and investors alike a total commitment to achieving global net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Second, as leaders turbocharged their own transitions, I urge them to scale up support for developing countries. Those least responsible for climate change are suffering from its worst effects. Africa and other parts of developing world are experiencing faster warming and the Pacific Islands are seeing faster sea level rise, even while the global average itself is accelerating. Meanwhile, despite being home to 60% of the world's best solar resources, Africa's only around 1.5% of installed solar capacity and receives just 2% of global investment into renewables. We need to change these fast. At COP30, leaders must deliver a credible roadmap to mobilize US$1.3 trillion a year for developing countries by 2035. Developed countries must honor their promise to double adaptation finance to at least 40 billion a year by this year. And we need significantly increased contributions and innovative sources of finance to support the fund for responding to loss and damage. Across all these fronts, we will keep up the push, including at the special event in September in the final weeks to COP30. As today's meeting made clear, we cannot, must not and will not let up on climate action. Thank you.

Thank you, Amelie.

Thank you. Secretary General Amelie Berthollier from AFP News Agency. You said no group or government can stop the revolution of clean energy. Do you have a specific countries in mind, especially the United States and more generally, what is your message to President Trump who clearly said that he want to push for more extraction of fossil fuels?

Well, the United States is a market economy. It's not government that determines the volume that is produced by fossil fuels or that is produced by renewable energy. And we have in the United States because the economics are clear. Today, the cost of renewables is cheaper than the cost of fossil fuels. In the United States we see the private sector with a very dynamic action and we see many governors that committed themselves to to the same objective. So I think we need to look into the United States in the complexity of the US society and not only in the positions taken by the leaders of the country.

Thank you, bongie. Mr. Secretary Felipe from TV Global Brazil. I'd like to know if China was in this meeting and if there was any progress that make you confident that the countries will release the NDC by

September or maybe before China was in the meeting. And China has not only announced that they would produce their national determined contributions, but President Xi said that those national determined contributions would cover all economic sectors and all greenhouse gases. It's the first time that China clarifies this point, and this is extremely important for climate action.

Great.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. Okay, thank you.