‘We are losing the race’ on climate change, UN chief Antonio Guterres warns
- United Nations official says climate change is the ‘most important global systemic threat in relation to the global economy’
The world is “losing the race” against climate change, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Thursday, demanding bolder action from governments to arrest runaway warming.
Guterres delivered a no-holds-barred appraisal to business and political leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which has featured much hand-wringing on the planetary crisis this week.
“In my opinion it is the most important global systemic threat in relation to the global economy,” the UN secretary general told his high-calibre audience.
“Climate change is running faster than what we are,” he said. “I believe we are losing the race.”
The business community and civil society are increasingly engaged, “but the political will is still very slow”, he said, lamenting the position of climate doubters.
“We are moving dramatically into a runaway climate change if we are not able to stop it.”