UN secretary general António Guterres urges opening session in Brazil to bring about a ‘fundamental paradigm shift’
The failure to limit global heating to 1.5C is a “moral failure and deadly negligence”, the UN secretary general has said at the opening session of the Cop30 climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belém.
António Guterres said even a temporary overshoot could “unleash far greater destruction and costs for every nation. It could push ecosystems past catastrophic and irreversible tipping points, expose billions to unliveable conditions, and amplify threats to peace and security”.
He said efforts to stabilise the climate were being held back by fossil fuel companies who were “deceiving the public and obstructing progress”.
Speaking to heads of state from more than 30 nations, Guterres called the target of limiting global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels a “red line” for a habitable planet and urged his audience to bring about a “fundamental paradigm shift” so that the effects of the overshoot could be minimised.
