UN Chief warns world is on 'highway to climate hell', calls for historic pact at COP27

United Nations secretary general António Guterres on Monday gave a hard-hitting message in his address as the COP27 climate summit commenced in Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh. According to The Guardian, the UN Chief said that the world is on a dangerous “highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator” and will soon welcome its eight billionth human in a matter of days. 

“In just days, our planet’s population will cross a new threshold. The eight billionth member of our human family will be born. What will we tell that child when they ask what we did for the planet?” he said rhetorically. “We are in the fight of our lives. And we are losing. Greenhouse gas emissions keep growing. Global temperatures keep rising. And our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible,” Guterres said, adding that the “1.5C degree goal is on life support – and the machines are rattling. We are getting dangerously close to the point of no return.”

After making the points, the UN secretary general called for a historic climate solidarity pact, in which all nations, from developed to developing, will make consistent efforts to reduce harmful emissions in order to reach the 1.5-degree target. “The two largest economies – the United States and China – have a particular responsibility to join efforts to make this pact a reality,” he said, adding that at this point, the world has only two choices. It can either cooperate or suffer, and take part in “either a climate solidarity pact – or a collective suicide pact.”

COP27 begins in Egypt

COP27 kicked off on Monday, with an address by the summit’s host, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. “Is it not high time to put an end to all this suffering. Climate change will never stop without our intervention... Our time here is limited and we must use every second that we have,” he said.

The annual conference in Egypt will witness over 100 world leaders speak on the existing climate crisis. Multiple leaders will also share how climate-induced disasters have impacted nations, including Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of the country of Pakistan, which was devastated by floods over the summer. The disaster led to $40 billion in damages and displaced millions of citizens from their habitats.