UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
CAIRO – 4 October 2022: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a dire warning that next month’s UN Climate Conference in Egypt is “as immense because the climate impacts we’re seeing world wide.”
Guterres underscored the importance of the conference, called COP27, to reporters in Latest York, as government representatives finalized the agenda.
He said, in an announcement issued by the UN News Center, the collective commitments of G20 industrialized nations have come “far too little and much too late.”
“The actions of the wealthiest developed and emerging economies simply don’t add up.,” he said, declaring that current pledges and policies are “shutting the door” on limiting global temperature to 2°C, let alone meet the 1.5°C goal.
“We’re in a life-or-death struggle for our own safety today and our survival tomorrow,” he added.
“On the central query of loss and damage, we all know people and nations are suffering now. They need meaningful decisions now,” the UN chief said as he urged all countries to attend COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.
COP27 is “the primary litmus test” of how seriously governments take the growing climate toll on essentially the most vulnerable countries, he added.
“This week’s pre-COP can determine how this important issue shall be handled in Sharm el-Shaikh,” he informed the media, noting that the world needs clarity from developed countries on the delivery of their dlrs 100 billion pledge to support climate motion in developing countries.
Furthermore, adaptation and resilience funding must represent half of all climate finance; multilateral development banks “must raise their game”; and emerging economies need support to back renewable energy and construct resilience, the UN chief added.
While the Resilience and Sustainability Trust led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a very good start, major multilateral development bank shareholders should be the driving force for transformative change, he continued.
