By Janet Ekstract, ANTALYA- In his opening remarks on the first day of the World Leaders Summit on Wednesday, at the COP31 UN Climate Summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres underscored that telling the truth about the climate is the first step toward action in the global climate crisis. As Guterres said: “The brutal truth is that the climate crisis is outrunning us. Fossil fuel interests keep making a killing by killing our planet.” The UN chief noted that “Science is not telling us to surrender, it’s telling us to fight harder.” Guterres has often pointed out at previous climate summits that countries had not done enough to meet their climate action commitments and said that right now “we need an extraordinary acceleration.” The UN leader also pointed out that the past pattern of “Distort the science, delay the policy, delay the action, delay the accountability,” must end. Guterres reiterated that “The first climate duty is to tell the truth,” adding that this “demands leadership, we know the truth, we must act on it. Weare in the fight for our lives and our children’s lives.”
The secretary-general highlighted there are three lessons from past decades that we must pay attention to: the first lesson, Guterres said is that “exponential change is possible,” citing that one in every three cars sold is now electric. The second lesson is Guterres said: “the case for fossil fuel is collapsing,” adding that it’s a “recipe for chronic insecurity.” While the third lesson is that emerging and developing economies must receive their fair share of financing to avoid political instability. As Guterres warned, these economies receive less than one fifth of the energy and if they don’t receive clean energy then “fossil fuels will take over and instability will spread across borders.”
The UN chief said that COP31 provides a unique opportunity for countries to discuss creating a global climate pact to further what he calls “climate justice.” Guterres explained that a climate pact relies on four pillars. The first is a just transition away from fossil fuels to either plan for this or risk disaster, he said. A second pillar is to protect people, Guterres reiterated the need for national adaptation with national community support in developing countries with early warning systems for coming disasters. He added that there must be support for loss and damage that is “swift and accessible.” The third pillar includes finance being accessible, Guterres cautioned. The UN leader underscored the need for creating concrete plans with clear financial milestones and a triple adaptation where financing is concerned. As Guterres emphasized: It needs “real finance flowing to developing countries, multilateral development.” The secretary-general said that banks need to mobilize more private investment and “take more risk” while “private investments must back the transition in developing countries.” His most significant point hinges on the largest polluters, paying their fair share. As Guterres commented: “Those who profit most from fossil fuel, must help foot the bill for the damage they have caused,” adding “The looters must pay,” citing how the nine largest oil companies pocketed billions.
Most significant, Guterres remarked is the fourth pillar – “Choose cooperation over fragmentation,” adding that “Geopolitical rivalry keeps us from this, the climate process itself must evolve, success must be measured on the ground.” The key, he said is that “implementation” is essential – stressing that by 2035, the global renewable capacity must be reached and by 2040, Guterres said that “coal power must be phased out and oil and gas use cut by a third.” The way to begin, Guterres reiterated is by aligning roadmaps to transition away from fossil fuel to a reality with “no new coal and no new oil and gas infrastructure.” As his long-running term as UN secretary-general winds down, Guterres expressed his solidarity for a universal climate agenda and pledged his continuing support. As he explained: “Starting next year, I will no longer be secretary-general but you can count on me to keep telling the truth and I will not stop fighting for it,” adding “Let’s keep fighting for the sustainable future we know is in our hands and I will be with you every step of the way.” Guterres added: “This is a climate agenda, an agenda for sustainable development, peace and security.”
