Guterres: Climate change is faster than expected
Climate change is faster than expected, as are greenhouse gas emissions, warned United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
He called for an "immediate, rapid and comprehensive" reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to slow global warming and prevent a climate catastrophe.
Ahead of next week's annual session of the UN General Assembly, he warned governments that climate change was moving faster than expected and that fossil fuel emissions had already been reduced by the coronavirus pandemic. reports the Times.
Speaking at the presentation of the United Science 21 report, which summarizes ongoing efforts to combat climate change, Guterres said recent extreme weather events - from Hurricane Ida in the United States and floods in Western Europe to a deadly heat wave in the northwest - it has been confirmed that no country is safe from climate-related disasters.
"These changes are just the beginning of worse situations. Unless there is an immediate, rapid and comprehensive reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, we will not be able to limit global warming to 1,5 degrees Celsius. "The consequences will be catastrophic," Guterres said, urging governments to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.