The UN Secretary General addressed the participants of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue. “We have a choice,” he said. – Collective action or collective suicide. All in our hands". The Petersberg Climate Dialogue, an international forum with the participation of ministers from about 40 countries, opened on Monday, July 18, in Berlin, Germany.
The UN chief's speech coincided with record high temperatures and raging forest fires in many European countries.
“Half of humanity is at risk from floods, droughts, extreme storms and wildfires. No country is immune from this. And yet we continue to maintain our dependence on fossil fuels,” Guterres said in a video message to the audience.
Antonio Guterres noted that COP26 - the UN Climate Conference - ended eight months ago and since then the task of keeping global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius has been under threat.
Guterres urged world leaders to join forces to reduce fossil fuel emissions, and asked developed countries to fulfill their pledges to finance climate change and adapt to its effects in low-income countries.
“What worries me most is that in the face of this global crisis, we are not able to work together as an international community. Countries continue to play the blame game instead of taking responsibility for our collective future. We cannot continue in the same spirit,” said the General Secretary.
