Guterres places those who take steps back in the climate fight on the “bad side of history”

One of the first announcements made by Donald Trump in his first week in the US presidency was his country’s exit from the Paris Agreement. It was during his speech at the World Economic Forum taking place this week in Davos that the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, wanted to send a clear message: the institutions and industries that take steps back from the commitments to fight against Climate change is on the “bad side of history” and has made the world’s addition to fossil fuels a “Frankenstein monster.”

“Several financial institutions and industries are backtracking on their climate commitments,” Guterres said. Such a movement, he assured, is “shortsighted and, paradoxically, selfish and also counterproductive. They are on the bad side of history. They are on the bad side of science. And it is on the bad side of consumers, who seek more sustainability, not less.

Guterres has stressed that the world’s “addiction to fossil fuels is the Frankenstein monster.” And to exemplify the risks involved, he has emphasized the irony that 13 of the largest ports for large oil tankers will be flooded by the rise in sea level, as a consequence of the rise in temperature and the melting of ice caused by the consumption of oil and natural gas.

Ahead of the United Nations Climate Conference (COP30) to be held in Brazil at the end of the year, the UN Secretary General has reminded world leaders that they must fulfill their promise to develop new national climate action plans before of the appointment.

Developing countries need a “surge of finance” for climate action, he said. In addition, he has urged governments, companies and financial institutions to create “solid” and “responsible” transition plans.

In a further step, the Secretary General has indicated that nuclear war no longer represents the only existential threat to humanity. To that list he has added the climate crisis and the uncontrolled expansion of artificial intelligence.

The UN Secretary General has pointed out that the world faces a “journey into Pandora’s box”, with the growth of inequalities, the assault on human rights and the multiplication of conflicts. Regarding tensions in the Middle East, Guterres has stated that Iran must take a step to improve relations with the countries in the region and with the United States by making it clear that they do not possess nuclear weapons.

“The most relevant issue is Iran and the relations between Iran, Israel and the United States,” he indicated. “My hope is that if the Iranians understand that it is important to make it clear once and for all that they will renounce having nuclear weapons, while also constructively engaging with other countries in the region.”

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Guterres places those who take steps back in the climate fight on the “bad side of history”