COP27 | We’re on a highway to climate hell, U.N.’s Guterres warns

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for a pact between the world's richest and poorest countries to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres told countries gathered at the start of the COP27 summit in Egypt on November 7 they face a stark choice: work together now to cut emissions or condemn future generations to climate catastrophe.

The speech was intended to set an urgent tone as governments sit down for two weeks of talks on how to avert the worst impacts of climate change, even as they are distracted by Russia’s war in Ukraine, rampant consumer inflation and energy shortages.

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"Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish,” Mr. Guterres told delegates gathered in the seaside resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. Leaders from countries from Britain to Saudi Arabia were scheduled to speak later in the day.

Mr. Guterres called for a pact between the world's richest and poorest countries to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels and speed up delivery of the funding needed to ensure poorer countries can reduce emissions and cope with the unavoidable impacts of warming that has already occurred.

“The two largest economies – the United States and China – have a particular responsibility to join efforts to make this pact a reality,” he said.

Mr. Guterres asked countries to agree to phase out the use of coal, one of the most carbon-intense fuels, by 2040 globally, with members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development hitting that mark by 2030.