Guterres in Antalya: 'Crossing the 1.5-degree limit is now inevitable'

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held a press conference in Antalya as part of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Thanking Turkey for its hosting, hospitality and warm welcome, Guterres said, "Turkey is hosting one of the largest COPs ever," and noted that it was truly extraordinary to feel the energy, enthusiasm and determination of tens of thousands of people from every corner of the world at this year's largest UN conference.

Guterres said this conference was the last COP he would attend as Secretary-General and his last event in Antalya, noting that throughout his tenure he had tried to tell the truth about the climate. "You cannot build peace on a burning planet," Guterres said, pointing to fossil fuels as the main cause of the climate crisis: "There is no credible path to a safe climate without moving away from fossil fuels."

Guterres said dependence on fossil fuels leaves countries exposed to price shocks, geopolitical turmoil and instability, and that the problem would be solved not by changing suppliers but by reducing dependence; he said clean energy, electricity grids, energy storage, efficiency and clean electrification must be scaled up massively.

Describing the picture laid out by science as "a bitter truth," Guterres said, "Crossing the 1.5-degree limit is now inevitable," and stated that his responsibility was to keep that overshoot as small and as short-lived as possible and to bring temperatures back below 1.5 degrees quickly. He stressed that this requires immediate and serious emissions reductions of around 6 percent every year for the next few years.

Guterres said that on the basis of current commitments under nationally determined contributions, temperatures would rise above 2.5 degrees by the end of the century, using the phrase, "This is a recipe for disaster." Stressing that developing countries would need far more support on loss and damage and adaptation, Guterres noted that economic conditions were changing and technology was advancing, and said that even "tripling" adaptation finance would cover less than 30 percent of the amount needed.

Referring to initiatives that came onto the agenda in Antalya, such as roadmaps on moving away from fossil fuels and on deforestation, efforts to expand electrification, a global commitment on zero waste, accelerating the development of global electricity grids, and giving momentum to the implementation of the "Early Warnings for All" initiative, Guterres said the gap between what science requires and what politics delivers is "dangerously large."