Countries pledged to keep the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels as part of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
The world is heading towards a climate catastrophe, but no one is paying attention, the U.N. secretary-general declared on Thursday, criticising the fossil fuel sector for being the root cause of the problem.
After meeting with civil society climate advocates, Antonio Guterres told reporters at the UN that current policies would cause a 2.8-degree temperature increase by the end of the century. That is a disaster, but the general response is still deplorable.
Countries pledged to keep the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels as part of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. According to U.N. climate scientists, this requires a peak in greenhouse gas emissions before 2025 and a 43% decline by 2030.
“Let’s be honest. Fossil fuels themselves are the problem, not just their emissions, according to Guterres. “The solution is clear: The world must phase out fossil fuels in a just and equitable way, moving to leave oil, coal and gas in the ground where they belong, and massively boosting renewable investment in a just transition,” the UN Environment Programme stated.
The secretary-general claimed that he wasn’t criticising the oil and gas industry, but rather urging them to lead the transition to renewable energy by making use of their current technologies, capabilities, and resources.
He said, “I encourage the fossil fuel sector, which is currently making massive profits, to use their money and take the lead in investing in renewable energy and the green economy. That would imply that they could make it through the change and continue to play significant roles in the global economy.
In 2022, the oil and gas sector had a record $4 trillion in net income, but only 4 cents of every dollar spent on drilling and exploration went towards clean energy and carbon capture, according to Guterres.
He acknowledged that moving away from fossil fuels won’t happen overnight, but it is possible if governments take concrete action, such as banning the production of new coal and gradually phase out existing coal-fired power plants by 2030 in the 38 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and by 2040 everywhere else.
He also called for stopping the licencing or funding of new oil and gas projects, stopping the growth of existing reserves, and switching fossil fuel subsidies to renewable ones.
As the next U.N. climate review conference, known as COP28, which will take place in Dubai in just five months, the U.N. chief is looking for strong commitments, particularly from the G20 countries, which are made up of the largest economies in the world and are among the biggest emitters.