Guterres says fossil fuel model has no future

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Tuesday that humanity can no longer afford to bank on fossil fuels amid the intensifying effects of climate change. In a speech delivered at London Climate Action Week, which is currently facing a severe heatwave, Guterres described the current situation as a "tale of two crises" – the climate crisis and the continued dependence on fossil fuels.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres referenced Charles Dickens's novel "A Tale of Two Cities" in a major speech delivered as part of London Climate Action Week, AGERPRES reports.

At Tuesday's event, António Guterres stated: "Crisis brings clarity, and here in London – Dickens's city – it is clear that our world is facing a «story of two crises»."

"A climate crisis is pushing us ever further towards higher temperatures and closer to catastrophic tipping points, and an energy crisis is exposing the madness of a world dependent on hydrocarbons. At first glance, these crises may seem separate, but they share the same destructive root: fossil fuels," he added.

His speech coincides with an unprecedented heatwave affecting the United Kingdom this week, which has sparked concerns about the impact of extreme heat on health, schools, workplaces, and transport.

Temperatures are expected to exceed by several degrees Celsius the record for June set in 1976, as climate change caused by human activities intensifies the impact of a "heat dome" settling over Western Europe.

Climate chaos "is accelerating before our eyes"

He warned that climate chaos "is accelerating before our eyes", while the arrival of the warming weather phenomenon El Niño this summer risks "bringing our house down," as it worsens climate impacts that have already become increasingly intense.

However, his speech also comes against the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East, which continues to fuel volatility in global markets amid rising fossil fuel prices.

António Guterres said that these two crises "demand the same response" – namely, "a fast and fair transition to clean energy" and a ramping up of adaptation, resilience, and climate justice efforts for those already facing the negative effects of climate change."

He also urged governments to tackle methane emissions that contribute to global warming, warning that voluntary measures are no longer sufficient to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which could act as an emergency brake against short-term warming.

Call for global action on methane

Launching a global "call to action on methane", António Guterres stated that "drastic reductions could lead to a noticeable drop in temperature within a generation," given that this greenhouse gas is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide but breaks down in the atmosphere much faster.

Although under the 2015 Paris Agreement countries pledged to make efforts to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in order to avoid the worst consequences, António Guterres noted that scientists are now saying that average annual temperatures will exceed this key threshold.

"The task ahead of us is to strictly limit the overshoot of this limit, shorten its duration, and bring temperatures back below the +1.5°C rise as quickly as possible," he said.

"Every fraction of a degree matters. Every moment matters. Because the bigger and longer the overshoot, the greater the risk of crossing planetary tipping points that trigger irreversible change," the UN Secretary-General added.

António Guterres referenced a report published on Tuesday by the UN's Scientific Advisory Board, which highlighted what crossing these critical limits would mean for various systems on our planet.

These include coral reefs being pushed towards collapse, accelerated melting of ice sheets—which would drive sea-level rise—the transformation of the Amazon rainforest into savanna-like conditions, and the weakening of major ocean circulation systems, factors that regulate climate and rainfall patterns globally.

Twin crises fueled by fossil fuels

The UN Secretary-General said that the war in the Middle East "has triggered the worst energy shock in decades", which also translates into a debt, food, and development shock for many poorer countries.

"These twin crises have once again exposed the limits of an outdated development model – a model fueled by fossil fuels, in which a single conflict can disrupt global energy supply, and a single chokepoint can send prices soaring," he said.

"The lesson is clear – this model has no future," he added.

"We can no longer rely on a fossil fuel-based system that fuels both the climate crisis and the energy crisis," the UN Secretary-General explained.

However, António Guterres also said that there is "a clear way out" and "a clean way out" through the transition to clean energy, promoting renewables as the cheapest, fastest, and most scalable source of new electricity across most of the world.

Data centers to be powered 100% by renewable energy by 2030

Regarding artificial intelligence (AI), he said that AI can accelerate climate solutions, but that this technology is also "a major consumer of land, water, and energy," and that the data centers underpinning it already consume more electricity than most countries.

"I call on all major AI companies to measure and disclose the full environmental impact of their systems – their carbon, water, and land footprint – and to commit to powering every data center with renewable energy by 2030," he said.

On another note, he urged countries to tax the windfall profits made by oil and gas companies amid the energy crisis, to eliminate harmful subsidies, to provide climate finance to poorer countries so they can adapt to new conditions, and to protect scientific independence.