UN chief calls for speeding efforts against climate change

Detailed summary

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for accelerating measures to break away from dependence on fossil fuels, saying efforts are lagging behind the pace of climate…

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for accelerating measures to break away from dependence on fossil fuels, saying efforts are lagging behind the pace of climate change.

The COP31 climate conference has been underway in Antalya, southern Turkey, since Monday. The two-day Leaders' Summit started on Wednesday.

At the beginning of the summit, Guterres said, "The brutal truth is that the climate crisis is outrunning us." But he also said, "We have the power to make sure the overshoot is a temporary breach, not a permanent sentence." He added: "Climate justice is the defining challenge of the next decade. We cannot demand that countries transform their economies while denying them the means to do so."

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which chairs the conference, said that humanity, driven by an appetite for excessive consumption, is going through one of the most serious existential crises in its history.

He indicated that developed nations need to fund measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Leaders from among the more than 90 countries taking part in the summit will deliver speeches. High-level dialogue will also be held on issues including raising the global electrification rate and reducing waste, which Turkey advocates.

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