The Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, stated that „humanity has failed” in its attempt to stop global warming below the threshold of +1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era.
In an interview with The Guardian, before next month’s Cop30 climate summit, António Guterres acknowledged that exceeding the threshold set by the 2015 Paris Agreement, „is now inevitable, with devastating consequences for the world”.
He urged leaders gathering in the Brazilian city of Belém, located in the rainforest, to realize that the longer they delay emissions reductions, the greater the danger of exceeding catastrophic "tipping points" in the Amazon, the Arctic, and the oceans.
"Let's acknowledge our failure. The truth is that we have failed to avoid exceeding a temperature of over 1.5°C in the coming years. And that exceeding a temperature of over 1.5°C has devastating consequences," Guterres said.
"It is absolutely essential to change course now, to ensure that the overshoot is as short as possible and of the lowest intensity. We do not want to see the Amazon turned into a savanna. But this is a real risk if we do not change course and if we do not dramatically reduce emissions as soon as possible," warned the UN Secretary-General.
The past 10 years have been the hottest on record for the planet. Despite warnings about the speed of global temperature rise caused by the burning of fossil fuels - oil, coal, and gas - the Secretary-General stated that government commitments have not been significant enough.
Less than a third of the world's nations (62 out of 197) have climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
After Donald Trump came to power, the US withdrew from the process. Europe has promised, but so far has not managed to meet its objectives. China, the world's largest emitter of gases, has been accused of not taking the necessary commitments.
Guterres stated that the lack of ambition in NDCs means that the Paris goal of 1.5°C will be breached, at least temporarily.
"From those NDCs received so far, there is an expectation of a 10% emission reduction. We would need 60% to stay within the 1.5°C limit. Therefore, the overshoot is now inevitable," Guterres said.
However, he has not given up on the goal and said that it may still be possible to temporarily exceed the targets and then lower temperatures in time to return to 1.5°C by the end of the century, but this would require a change in direction at and after Cop30.
He called on governments to rebalance representation at the COPs so that civil society groups, especially from indigenous communities, have a greater presence and influence than those paid by corporations.
"We all know what lobbyists want. To increase their profits, with humanity paying the price," Guterres affirmed.