By Janet Ekstract, NEW YORK- As the United Nations General Assembly meetings get underway, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered his opening remarks on Monday, September 21, expressing his thanks to the Climate Group “for bringing us together.” In the run-up to COP31, the U.N. international climate conference that will meet in Antalya, Türkiye in November, Guterres reiterated: “Climate chaos is accelerating before our eyes. We have just lived through the hottest eleven years on record, and science tells us that the world will overshoot 1.5 degrees C within the next few years, pushing us closer to catastrophic tipping points.” He added: “Every fraction of a degree of warming matters. So does every year we spend about that line.” The U.N. chief lauded those who he said “moved the climate and development agenda from aspiration to implementation.” Guterres said he was grateful that for over a decade, non-state actors “have helped test solutions, push governments further, and hold institutions, including my own, to account.”
Further emphasizing how crucial non-state actors are, Guterres said: “Whether it’s breakthrough solutions, championing justice, and holding governments and multilateral institutions to account – we need you as partners.” Guterres told world leaders that the future lies with renewables which he said “are now the cheapest, fastest, and most scalable source of new electricity in most of the world.” The U.N. leader went on to add that a multitude of developing countries are “already under severe debt pressure, an energy shock quickly becomes a development shock. It reaches the price of food and the room governments have to invest in schools, health systems and jobs.” He noted that wind and solar energy are “leading all new electricity demand growth worldwide.” Guterres reiterated that “Capital is following: clean-energy investment is almost twice the investment in fossil fuels.” He said that grid investment expectations will increase by close to 20 percent in 2026 to about $550 billion with battery storage investment expected to hit above $100 billion. Guterres noted what that would mean “if we get it right: hospitals, schools and public buildings powered by affordable clean energy, cutting pollution while freeing public resources for development.”
The U.N. chief said he wants world leaders to take on three tasks to make sure sure the earth’s temperature does not go above 1.5 degrees. Guterres emphasized governments need “over-delivering” on their national climate plans while quickening the pace away from fossil fuels to renewables and answering the Secretary-Generals global Call to Action on Methane with much deeper cuts this decade. He said this involves infrastructure changes – expanding grids, storage and modern power systems to carry clean power to every home, promoting clean cooking. Second, he said such an undertaking requires adequate financing because “The global financial system is failing the countries that need support the most.” The secretary-general highlighted that advanced economies clean energy finance is three times cheaper than in most developing countries. He reiterated: “Developed countries must keep their climate finance promises.” Guterres made it clear that “the $300 billion pledged to developing countries must be delivered – with concrete steps to mobilize $1.3 million a year by 2035.”
Guterres added that “adaptation finance must be tripled,” to make sure it reaches those most at risk and that the Green Climate Fund and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage must be restored. He also said grant-based and predictable finance, especially for Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries, must be “prioritized.” Other financial reform includes boosting MDBs through their shareholders, also through recapitalization and further reforms. The third task includes protecting lives before disaster strikes since Guterres said “Climate impacts already threaten sustainable development, stability and security.” The U.N. leader warned that climate change “threatens lives and livelihoods worldwide,” adding that it is “straining food and water systems, disrupting supply chains, damaging infrastructure and deepening inequalities.” The secretary-general said that “just transition rests on decent and greener jobs” while “strengthening social safety nets for affected workers.” He said countries and communities must be assured they will be the first to benefit from critical minerals in their own nations. Concluding, Guterres said that ‘Just’ means everyone must think about who “gets the opportunity,” not just who takes on the cost. The U.N. chief reminded everyone: Women and young people should be among those building the new industries, owning the businesses and shaping the decisions that come with this transition.”
