United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Monday for an agreement between the world’s richest and poorest countries to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels and speed up delivery of the funding needed.
This is to ensure poorer countries can reduce emissions and cope with the inevitable impacts of warming that has already occurred.
During his speech at COP27 summit in Egypt, he asked countries to agree to phase out the use of coal, one of the most carbon-intense fuels by 2040 globally.
While, members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development hitting that mark by 2030.
UN Chief told the countries they have to choose weather working together to cut emissions or convict future generations to climate catastrophe.
“The two largest economies are the United States and China, they have a particular responsibility to join efforts to make this pact a reality,” Guterres said.
The governments sit down for two weeks of talks on how to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, even as they are confused by Russia’s war, which resulted rampant consumer inflation and energy shortages.
“Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish,” Guterres told delegates gathered in the seaside resort town of Sharm El Sheikh.
Guterres warned global leaders at the summit “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator,” adding that the planet is fast approaching the tipping point that will make climate chaos irrecoverable.