Climate Crisis – The Secretary-General of the United Nations presents a plan for the transition to clean energy

In a keynote speech delivered today, Tuesday, at the London Climate Action Week, the Secretary-General highlighted how the world’s dependence on oil is exacerbating the climate crisis and the crisis of energy sovereignty, linked to the massive maritime disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the ongoing war between Iran, Israel, and the United States.

Mr. Guterres said: “These crises may seem separate, but they share the same destructive origin: fossil fuels. They require the same solution: a rapid and just transition to clean energy, and promoting adaptation, resilience and climate justice for those already facing climate damage.”

Guterres called on the political leadership to advance global change, such as what is needed to phase out leaded gasoline and ban chemicals that create a hole in the ozone layer.

In short: the United Nations plan to achieve energy independence

🔹Reduce emissions quickly: Emissions must peak now and reach zero by 2050, including through a global effort to reduce methane pollution.

🔹Accelerating the pace of clean energy: We must continue to expand the use of renewable energy sources, stop subsidies for fossil fuel projects, and tax fossil fuel profits to support the most vulnerable communities and the energy sector transition.

🔹Making artificial intelligence more sustainable: Require major AI companies to disclose the environmental impact of their data centers and supply them with renewable energy by 2030.

🔹Ensuring a fair transition: Ensure that the transition to clean energy contributes to creating job opportunities, supporting communities, and achieving development benefits for developing countries.

🔹Strengthening resilience to climate change: Increase investment in adaptation, early warning systems, and other measures to protect those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

🔹Providing fair financing: Expanding concessional financing for developing countries to invest in clean energy, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development.

🔹Defending science and truth: Strengthen trust in science, combat climate disinformation, and protect environmental journalists and human rights defenders.

Critical turning points for planet Earth

It has been more than a decade since world leaders agreed in Paris to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, in a landmark gesture of international unity led by the United Nations.

Today, although this agreement remains in effect – and despite the United States formally withdrawing from it for the second time in January of this year – UN-backed scientists warn that average annual temperatures are likely to exceed this limit in the coming years.

The Secretary-General affirmed: “Every part of the grade matters,” Warning of irreparable damage to coral reefs that will not be able to survive in warmer waters, the melting of ice sheets that threatens to change the shape of coastlines and displace millions, and the real possibility of some small island states disappearing beneath the waves.

In the face of this existential scenario, Mr. Guterres stressed that: “The task before us is to strictly limit the overrun, shorten its duration, and reduce temperatures to below 1.5 degrees Celsius as quickly as possible.”

Mr. Guterres added: “Facing this existential scenario, the task before us is to strictly limit the overshoot, shorten its duration, and reduce temperatures to below 1.5 degrees Celsius as quickly as possible.”

A major shock in the energy sector

While noting that “any peace agreement is welcome and will mitigate the severity of the crisis,” referring to a 60-day ceasefire to allow the continuation of the Iranian-American talks in Switzerland, the UN Secretary-General noted that the Middle East crisis had unleashed “the mother of all energy shocks” comparable to the oil crisis of the 1970s and the comprehensive Russian invasion of Ukraine.

As much as the Middle East war damaged the major industrialized countries, the UN Secretary-General insisted that developing countries were more severely affected: “It is a debt shock, a food shock, and a development shock.”

A fair future of renewable energy sources

The Secretary-General continued: “The good news is that – unlike all previous energy crises – we now have a clear way out, a clean way out.”

He noted that since 2010, the cost of solar energy has fallen by about 90%, onshore wind energy by more than 70%, and battery storage by 95%.

Mr. Guterres said that renewable energy sources have contributed to avoiding annual carbon dioxide emissions exceeding the combined emissions of the United States, the European Union and Japan, adding that investment in clean energy now attracts nearly twice as much as investment in fossil fuels.

He added: “There are no restrictions on the use of solar energy and no barriers to wind energy.”

A seven-point plan to achieve energy independence

As part of the UN Secretary-General’s plan to transition completely away from fossil fuels, he has identified seven key steps:

🔹Firstly, Emissions must peak immediately and fall sharply over this decade, reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

Mr. Guterres stressed that the G20, which includes rich countries, “must lead” this effort, given its responsibility for about 80% of global emissions. The ambitious measures include a global call to action on methane to reduce emissions of this gas, which traps 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide but decomposes in the atmosphere in just a decade or two.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations emphasized: “The world has phased out leaded gasoline. We have eliminated ozone-depleting chemicals. Methane pollution should be the next step.”

🔹secondly, Clean energy projects should be encouraged and government subsidies for new fossil fuel projects should be eliminated. “The eight largest fossil fuel companies reported an additional $6.5 billion in profits in the first quarter of this year alone… and I urge governments to tax them” to help the most vulnerable families and communities and accelerate the transition to clean, affordable energy, Mr. Guterres said.

🔹Thirdly, Every major AI company must “measure and publish the full environmental impact” of data centers: their carbon, water and land footprint, and commit to powering every data center with renewable energy by 2030. The UN Secretary-General noted that AI data centers today consume more electricity than most countries; “It’s time for transparency.”

The Secretary-General said that by 2030, artificial intelligence data centers may consume enough water to meet the basic needs of all 1.3 billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa for an entire year.

🔹Fourthly, “No more extraction without development”: Mr. Guterres called for greater support for the clean energy transition in a way that benefits workers and communities everywhere, including developing countries, driven by the UN Climate Conference (COP31) in Turkey. “The transition itself is no longer in doubt,” he stressed, adding: “It will be either managed or chaotic, fair or unequal, a source of stability or more division; and these choices are still in our hands.”

🔹Fifthly, Protect those most at risk from climate chaos by helping them adapt, because, according to the Secretary-General, this “save[s]lives, protects homes and communities, helps economies absorb shocks, and keeps societies together.” Mr. Guterres added that emergency systems must be put in place before shocks turn into humanitarian and economic disasters. At the same time, developed countries must fulfill their “long-term commitment to double adaptation financing, with a clear path towards tripling it.”

🔹Sixth, Support equitable financing to encourage the phase-out of fossil fuels and the green transition at scale and speed, as many developing countries face borrowing costs two to three times higher than those in richer economies.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations confirmed that “Countries rich in renewable energy potential are excluded from the clean energy revolution.” Pointing to African countries that receive only 2% of global investments in clean energy, despite possessing 60% of the best solar energy resources in the world.

Mr. Guterres highlighted the additional lending capacity of multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank, which ranges between $600 and $800 billion. He stressed the need to use this capacity “intensively” to finance future infrastructure and adaptation to climate change, in addition to other investment measures such as imposing taxes on sectors with high emissions.

Likewise, the Secretary-General of the United Nations stressed the need for developed countries to fulfill their promises, including support for the Loss and Damage Response Fund and the Green Climate Fund, noting the need to provide the US$300 billion allocated to developing countries, in addition to taking concrete steps to mobilize US$1.3 trillion annually by 2035.

🔹Seventh, In conclusion, the Secretary-General of the United Nations urged support for science as the basis of truth and early warning systems, and to address misinformation about climate change, as misinformation is deliberately spread to delay climate action, entrench vested interests, and undermine trust.

Mr. Guterres stressed the need to protect human rights defenders and journalists covering climate and environmental issues, and to strengthen trust in evidence and institutions, pointing to the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change, led by the United Nations, UNESCO and Brazil, in support of this goal.