UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told representatives of countries at the start of the COP27 summit in Egypt on Monday that they face a stark choice: pull together now to cut emissions or condemn future generations to climate catastrophe.
The speech set an urgent tone as governments begin two weeks of talks on how to avoid the worst effects of climate change, despite being distracted by Russia’s war in Ukraine, rampant consumer inflation, and energy shortages.
“Humanity has a choice: co-operate or perish,” Guterres told delegates gathered in the seaside resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Guterres called for a global agreement between the world’s richest and poorest countries to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, as well as funding to ensure that poorer countries can reduce emissions and cope with existing climate impacts.
“The two largest economies, the US and China, have a particular responsibility to join efforts to make this pact a reality. Greenhouse gas emissions keep growing. Global temperatures keep rising. And our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible,” he said. “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.”
Following Guterres’ speech, President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) spoke. The UAE is a member of the oil forum Opec and will host next year’s UN conference, which will attempt to finalize agreements made last year in Britain and this year in Egypt.
“The UAE is considered a responsible supplier of energy and it will continue playing this role of producing fossil fuels as long as the world is in need of oil and gas,” he said.
Former US Vice President Al Gore, who also spoke at the event, said that when it comes to climate change, global leaders have a credibility problem. He called developed countries’ continued pursuit of gas resources in Africa “fossil fuel colonialism.”
“We have a credibility problem all of us: we’re talking and we’re starting to act, but we’re not doing enough. We must see the so-called dash for gas for what it really is: a dash down a bridge to nowhere, leaving the countries of the world facing climate chaos and billions in stranded assets, especially here in Africa,”,” Gore said.
Many oil, gas, and coal-rich countries have criticised the push for a rapid transition away from fossil fuels, claiming it is economically reckless and unfair to poorer and less developed countries eager for economic growth.
