Climate point-of-no-return 'hurtling towards us', UN warns
(SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES, SAYING:
"We are confronted now with a global climate crisis and the point of no return is no longer over the horizon, it is in sight and hurtling towards us."
With regions on every continent experiencing extreme weather - from wildfires to floods
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres delivered a sharp rebuke to world leaders on Sunday.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES, SAYING:
"Let's be clear, until now our efforts to reach these targets have been utterly inadequate. The commitments made in Paris would still lead to an increase in temperature above three degrees Celsius, but many countries aren't even meeting those commitments."
Guterres was speaking on the eve of a UN climate summit in Madrid
at which world leaders will be under pressure to do more.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES, SAYING:
"What is still lacking is political will, political will to put a price on carbon, political will to stop subsidies on fossil fuels, political will to building coal power plants from 2020 onwards, political will to shift taxation from income to carbon, taxing pollution instead of people. We simply have to stop digging and drilling and take advantage of the vast possibilities offered by renewable energy and nature-based solutions."
The COP25 summit runs from December 2 - 13 and follows a UN report that greenhouse gas emissions surged to a record level last year.
