Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the high-level event on climate action and the just transition, held in New York today:
I want to thank Türkiye and Australia for their efforts in the preparation of COP31 [2026 UN Climate Change Conference] and my thanks to all the leaders and countries that are here with us today.
The world is crying out for climate justice — in mitigation, in adaptation and in finance. We must answer that call with action, and we don’t have a moment to lose.
A super El Niño is supercharging the impacts, and science tells us the world is heading for an overshoot of the 1.5°C limit. We must make that overshoot as small and as short as possible.
But, emissions are still rising when they must plummet. And fossil-fuel expansion continues — defying science, economics and common sense. We have seen how fossil fuel dependence wreaks havoc — driving up costs, draining budgets, squeezing households and leaving countries at the mercy of conflicts and decisions far beyond their borders.
Meanwhile, fossil fuel companies are banking windfall profits, while everyday people foot the bill. Doubling down on oil and gas will only lock in vulnerability for decades. Fortunately, we have a way out. Because the crisis is accelerating — but so are the solutions.
Renewables are the cheapest, fastest and most secure source of new electricity almost everywhere. Clean energy has gone from alternative to unstoppable.
In this room, we have major economies and front-line nations; energy producers and consumers. Different circumstances, but a shared interest for a faster, fairer transition; for energy security and independence; and for protecting people and livelihoods.
At a time of deep geopolitical division, you can show how cooperation can deliver on four fronts.
First, we must accelerate. Even if fully implemented, national climate plans point to warming beyond 2°C. We must close that gap this decade — by tripling renewables, doubling efficiency, electrifying economies, slashing methane, halting deforestation and speeding the transition from fossil fuels.
I call on every country to develop a credible roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels with clear timelines. The G20, responsible for 80 per cent of global emissions, must lead. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities must apply. But, all countries must raise their ambition.
Surging demand for power — not least from artificial intelligence (AI) — must be met with a surge in renewables, grids and storage.
Second, we must ensure fairness. A just transition must be built with affected workers and communities — creating decent jobs and strengthening social protection. Developing countries must shape it and share its benefits, starting with clean power for the hundreds of millions still without electricity — most of them in Africa.
Third, we must finance the transformation. The financial system must stop punishing vulnerability and start rewarding climate action. That means mobilizing at least $300 billion a year for developing countries — with developed countries taking the lead — and scaling up climate finance to $1.3 trillion a year by 2035.
Ensuring ambitious replenishment of the Green Climate Fund and the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage. Let’s be honest: the amounts available in the Loss and Damage Fund are completely ridiculous.
Making polluters pay. Easing debt burdens that choke investment — including by pausing repayments when disasters strike. Reforming the international financial architecture to give developing countries a stronger voice and participation.
Making multilateral development banks bigger, bolder and better. And making every public dollar work harder — with guarantees and other risk-sharing instruments that lower the cost of capital and make it possible to mobilize private capital on a massive scale.
Fourth, we must protect people from the impacts of climate chaos. Without adaptation, droughts become hunger crises, storms become debt crises and heatwaves become killers. That’s why we must triple adaptation finance; embed resilience in every policy, budget and infrastructure decision; and extend early warnings to every person on Earth by 2027.
Across all four fronts, we must safeguard the foundations of climate action. That means defending science and truth. Defending the law — as the International Court of Justice has confirmed, protecting the climate is an obligation. And defending cooperation — because no country can decarbonize the global economy alone or shield itself from climate chaos.
The United Nations will do its part. Today, with our partners, we are launching a common platform on grids to help countries build the arteries of the clean energy age. The next phase of the task force on critical-energy-transition minerals will support six developing countries so that their mineral wealth drives local development with added value remaining there.
Since 2022, we have mobilized $2 billion for early warnings, with more than 160 countries receiving direct support to strengthen their systems.
We must match an accelerating crisis with accelerating action, match the revolution in energy with a revolution in finance and match rising impacts with rising protection.
So, I ask you all to deliver — and then overdeliver. We are the first generation with the tools to end the fossil fuel age and the last who can avert climate catastrophe. Let us use them well.