Swift, concerted efforts urged to combat climate change ahead of COP30 summit

BELEM, Brazil, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and world leaders on Thursday urged governments to take immediate, decisive actions and make concerted efforts to combat climate change.

"We need to move faster -- and move together. This COP must ignite a decade of acceleration and delivery," Guterres made the urgent call in addressing the opening plenary of a two-day leaders' meeting to discuss pressing climate change challenges and commitments ahead of the 30th United Nations climate change conference, commonly known as COP30, to be held on Nov. 10-21 in Brazil's Amazon city of Belem.

NOT TO GIVE UP ON 1.5 DEGREE GLOBAL WARMING GOAL

Guterres noted in his speech that the world has failed to accomplish the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels as established in the 2015 Paris Agreement, warning, "It could push ecosystems past irreversible tipping points, expose billions to unlivable conditions, and amplify threats to peace and security."

However, based on science, "If we act now, at speed and scale, we can make the overshoot as small, as short, and as safe as possible -- and bring temperatures back below 1.5 degrees Celsius before the century's end," he said, adding that despite the immense challenge, the world can "choose to make Belem the turning point." 

To limit the overshoot, Guterres stressed the need for a paradigm shift and for governments around the world to take immediate, decisive actions.

Meanwhile, he reiterated the need to support developing countries in moving away from fossil fuels, calling for a clear path to achieving the target of 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars a year in climate finance by 2035, as agreed at COP 29 in Baku.

"Developed countries must take the lead in mobilizing 300 billion dollars annually -- delivering affordable, predictable finance at the agreed scale," he said.

CALL FOR CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION TO CURB GLOBAL WARMING

Leaders from Brazil, France, Chile and other countries on Thursday joined Guterres in urging swift and joint efforts to combat climate change.

In his opening address at the meeting, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for accelerating the energy transition to renewable sources and strengthening environmental protection.

"Accelerating the energy transition and protecting nature are the two most effective ways to contain global warming," Lula da Silva told the more than 70 representatives from governments and international organizations.

"Clean energy is winning on price, performance, and potential -- offering the solutions to transform our economies and protect our populations," said Guterres in his address, adding that in 2024, almost all new power capacity came from renewables.

As solar and wind are the cheapest and fastest-growing sources of electricity in history, millions are connected to clean and affordable energy for the first time, while the clean-energy economy is creating jobs and driving development, the UN chief noted.

Before the convening of the leaders' meeting, Brazil's Environment and Climate Change Minister Marina Silva called the meeting an opportunity for governments to highlight the global shift toward renewable energy sources from fossil fuels.

Lula da Silva also called on governments to allocate more resources to environmental protection. On Thursday, the multilateral Tropical Forests Forever Facility fund was launched at the leaders' meeting. The Brazil-proposed climate finance mechanism aims to incentivize countries that protect tropical forests, which are known as the "lungs of the earth."

The upcoming COP30 is expected to guide climate-related negotiations, with an agenda focused on climate and nature, energy transition, Paris Agreement implementation review, nationally determined contributions and climate finance.■