United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres didn’t mince words in responding to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which shows global warming is on track to blow past a critical 2.7-degree Fahrenheit limit by the end of this decade unless countries make swift and dramatic cuts in fossil fuel emissions. This final installment of a three-part climate assessment, which follows previous reports on the science of climate change and its escalating impacts, focuses on the world’s progress in cutting emissions and remaining options to avoid disastrous levels of warming.
Guterres said the assessment, released Monday, revealed a “litany of broken climate promises” and “empty pledges that put us firmly on track towards an unlivable world.” He said government and business leaders who claim they are committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions are lying. “And the results will be catastrophic.” He cast blame on high-polluting countries and corporations that are “choking our planet, based on their vested interests and historic investments in fossil fuels.” He didn’t name them. But we know who they are.
He’s right, of course. But his remarks stand out because of how sharply they contrast with the complacency shown by most world leaders, even as they are confronted with yet another harrowing climate assessment that demands immediate action.
