Tackle climate change or surrender, UN chief says at opening of climate talks

UN Secretary General António Guterres says unless the world stops burning coal, efforts to tackle climate change will be doomed

The world’s largest carbon emitters – the US, China and India – are sending ministerial officials to the talks

Reading Time:3 minutes

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks at the opening of the UN Climate Change Conference COP25 in Madrid, Spain. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:30pm, 2 Dec 2019Updated: 9:51pm, 2 Dec 2019

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on Monday urged countries not to give up in the fight against climate change, as representatives from nearly 200 countries gathered in Madrid for a two-week meeting on tackling global warming.

In his opening speech to delegates, Guterres cited recent scientific data showing that levels of heat-trapping gases have hit a record high, reaching levels not seen for at least 3 million years when sea levels were 10-20 metres higher than today.

He noted that some countries are still building coal-fired power plants, and that unless emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are sharply cut, temperatures could rise to twice the threshold set in the 2015 Paris accord by the end of the century.

“Do we really want to be remembered as the generation that buried its head in the sand, that fiddled while the planet burned?” Guterres asked. He said the world has a choice to tackle climate change or surrender.

Leaders pose for a photo at the start of the UN climate change conference (COP25) in Madrid, Spain. Photo: Reuters

The chair of the meeting, Chile’s environment minister, Carolina Schmidt, warned that those refusing to adjust to the planet’s rising temperatures “will be on the wrong side of history”.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x