UN chief urges action at COP27 climate summit

CAIRO - 4 October 2022: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a dire warning that next month's UN Climate Conference in Egypt is "as immense as the climate impacts we are seeing around the world."

Guterres underscored the importance of the conference, called COP27, to reporters in New York, as government representatives finalized the agenda.

He said, in a statement issued by the UN News Center, the collective commitments of G20 industrialized nations have come "far too little and far too late."

“The actions of the wealthiest developed and emerging economies simply don’t add up.,” he said, pointing out that current pledges and policies are “shutting the door” on limiting global temperature to 2°C, let alone meet the 1.5°C goal.

"We are in a life-or-death struggle for our own safety today and our survival tomorrow," he added.

"On the central question of loss and damage, we know people and nations are suffering now. They need meaningful decisions now," the UN chief said as he urged all countries to attend COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.

COP27 is "the number one litmus test" of how seriously governments take the growing climate toll on the most vulnerable countries, he added.

“This week’s pre-COP can determine how this crucial issue will be handled in Sharm el-Shaikh,” he informed the media, noting that the world needs clarity from developed countries on the delivery of their dlrs 100 billion pledge to support climate action in developing countries.

Moreover, adaptation and resilience funding must represent half of all climate finance; multilateral development banks "must raise their game"; and emerging economies need support to back renewable energy and build resilience, the UN chief added.

While the Resilience and Sustainability Trust led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a good start, major multilateral development bank shareholders must be the driving force for transformative change, he continued.