Source: United Nations (video statements)
Remarks by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, at the Belém Climate Summit – Energy Transition Roundtable.
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Speaking at an Energy Transition Roundtable on the sidelines of the World Leaders Climate Action Summit in Belém, Brazil, Secretary-General António Guterres said, “renewables are now the cheapest source of new electricity,” but stressed that “we must go much faster – and ensure all nations share the benefits.”
Guterres said, renewables “are powering prosperity and empowering communities long left in the dark,” and noted that “every dollar invested in renewables creates three times more jobs than a dollar invested in fossil fuels – and clean energy jobs now outnumber fossil fuel jobs worldwide.”
He said, “the renewables revolution is here.”
The Secretary-General said, “scientists tell us that overshooting 1.5 degrees is now inevitable, starting, at the latest, in the early 2030s. But how high and how long that overshoot lasts depends on the speed and scale of our actions today.”
To return below 1.5 degrees by century’s end, he said, “global emissions must fall by almost half by 2030, reach net zero by 2050, and go net negative afterwards.”
Guterres called for eliminating fossil fuel subsidies; supporting workers and communities whose livelihoods still depend on coal, oil and gas; investment in infrastructure, including grids, storage, and efficiency, meeting all new electricity demand with clean power, including from the data centres powering artificial intelligence; and unlocking finance at scale for developing countries.
He said, “the pathways for each country may look different, but the destination must be the same: A net-zero world, followed consistently by a net negative world – powered by renewables.”
The Secretary-General said, “we must support developing countries to implement their commitment to transition away from fossil fuels through stronger cooperation, investment and technology transfer – and calibrated to different capacities and dependencies.”
At COP28 in 2023 in Dubai countries had agreed to transition away from fossil fuels and to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030.
The Belém Climate Summit, taking place 6 and 7 November, brings together heads of state and government, ministers, and leaders of international organizations to discuss pressing climate change challenges and commitments.