WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a new global climate justice agreement at COP31, urging governments to tax fossil fuel companies to help countries bearing the brunt of a crisis they did little to cause.
His appeal came as world leaders gathered in Antalya on Wednesday amid unresolved questions over climate finance and the future of fossil fuels.
At a two-day high-level Summit, the UN chief accused polluters of delaying action, and once again warned that the climate crisis is advancing faster than global efforts to contain it.
'Our planet is heating up. The clock is winding down. It's make or bake time,' he said, reminding world leaders that even if current national plans are fully implemented, the planet is heading towards more than 2.5°C of warming by century's end.
But he insisted that breaching the 1.5°C threshold does not mean giving up. 'Science is not telling us to surrender. It is telling us to fight harder' the UN chief said, stressing that every fraction of a degree of warming avoided matters.
Against that backdrop, Guterres proposed a 'climate justice compact' to help developing countries move away from fossil fuels while protecting those already suffering from climate change.
'We cannot demand that countries transform their economies while denying them the means to do so,' he said.
The proposed compact rests on four priorities: Accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels through national plans, while expanding renewable energy; Protect vulnerable populations with early-warning systems, stronger adaptation measures and faster support after climate disasters; Protect vulnerable populations with early-warning systems, stronger adaptation measures and faster support after climate disasters, and Strengthen international cooperation to overcome trade barriers, technological divides and geopolitical rivalries.
The UN chief took aim at fossil fuel interests, accusing them of distorting science and delaying climate action.
He contrasted the $95 billion earned by the world's nine largest oil companies in one quarter with the roughly $600 million received by the international fund helping vulnerable countries recover from climate-related loss and damage.
That was equivalent to just 14 hours of those companies' profits, he said, urging governments to tax windfall profits.
'Polluters must pay', a line that earned him an ovation in the plenary.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country is co-hosting COP31 in Antalya, acknowledged that three decades of climate negotiations had failed to deliver sufficient results.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva warned that climate change was losing ground on the international agenda as wars and trade disputes overshadowed the fight against global warming.
Lula also announced that Brazil would develop national roadmaps to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and end deforestation.
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