RIYADH: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned world leaders to stop treating the planet “like a toilet” in his opening address to the COP26 climate summit.
In a hard-hitting warning to the heads of states gathered in Glasgow, Guterres said: “Our addiction to fossil fuels is pushing humanity to the brink. We face a stark choice. Either we stop it, or it stops us. It’s time to say enough. Enough of brutalizing biodiversity. Enough of killing ourselves with carbon. Enough of treating nature like a toilet. Enough of burning and drilling and mining our way deeper. We are digging our own graves.”
“If commitments fall short at the end of this COP, countries must revisit their national climate plans and policies – not every five years (but) every year and every moment,” Guterres told leaders at the COP26 opening ceremony.
Guterres warned that the six years since the Paris Agreement in 2015, in which world governments agreed to limit global warming to as close to 1.5?C as possible and below 2?C, had been the six hottest years on record.
He said: “We must keep the goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius alive. This requires greater ambition on mitigation and immediate concrete action to reduce global emissions by 45 percent by 2030. G20 countries have a particular responsibility as they represent around 80 percent of emissions. According to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in light of national circumstances, developed countries must lead the effort. But emerging economies, too, must go the extra mile, as their contribution is essential for the effective reduction of emissions. We need maximum ambition from all countries on all fronts to make Glasgow a success.”