UN Secretary-General calls for roadmaps to end the fossil fuel era
New York, 23 Sep (KUNA) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guteris called on the international community on Wednesday to develop credible roadmaps and clear timelines for transitioning away from fossil fuels and accelerating the shift to clean energy sources.
Speaking at the Climate Summit held during the High-Level Week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, Guteris stated that the world is "the first generation with the tools necessary to end the age of fossil fuels and the last generation able to avoid a climate catastrophe."
He emphasized that the world is demanding climate justice in the areas of mitigation, adaptation, and adequate financing, stressing the need to respond through concrete actions.
Guteris criticized the continued rise in greenhouse gas emissions, which should have seen a sharp decline, pointing to the ongoing expansion of fossil fuel use despite what he described as its contradiction with science and economic logic.
He noted that renewable energy sources have become among the cheapest, fastest, and safest new sources of electricity generation in most parts of the world, affirming that the transition to clean energy has become an "unstoppable" path.
He called for tripling renewable energy capacity, doubling energy efficiency, accelerating the electrification transition, sharply reducing methane emissions, and ending deforestation.
Guteris stressed the need to meet the growing demand for electricity, including demand driven by artificial intelligence technologies, by expanding renewable energy sources, power grids, and energy storage systems.
He urged the Group of Twenty (G20), which accounts for approximately 80 percent of global emissions, to lead the transition efforts, emphasizing that this transition must be fair, create jobs, strengthen social protection, and allow developing countries to participate in shaping its trajectory and benefit from its outcomes.
Regarding financing, Guteris called for mobilizing at least $300 billion annually for developing countries, led by advanced economies, and working to raise total climate finance to $1.3 trillion annually by 2035.
He also called for holding polluters accountable for costs, alleviating debt burdens in the event of disasters, and giving developing countries a stronger voice in the international financial system, stressing the need to "match the energy revolution with a revolution in finance."
In conclusion, the UN Secretary-General emphasized that addressing climate change requires protecting science and truth, upholding international law, and enhancing cooperation among states, noting that "no single country can decarbonize the global economy or protect itself from the impacts of climate change alone." (End)
