Reaction to the new world climate report: Guterres accuses governments and companies of lying when it comes to climate protection

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UN Secretary-General Guterres

Photo: IMAGO/UN Bureau / IMAGO/Xinhua

After the publication of the IPCC's new progress report, UN Secretary-General António Guterres accused some governments and companies of "lying" about their commitment to climate protection.

"Some governments and business leaders say one thing and do another," Guterres said in New York.

"To put it simply: you lie." Accordingly, the new IPCC report is a "catalog of empty promises that put us firmly on the path to an uninhabitable earth."

The IPCC published the third part of its new assessment report on Monday, which looks at measures to counter worsening global warming (read a detailed analysis of the paper here).

Without a quick switch to climate-friendly energy sources such as solar and wind power, the goal of the Paris climate agreement of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial age threatens to become »impossible«.

Investing in oil and coal as "moral and economic madness"

The UN Secretary-General called the IPCC's findings on global measures against global warming "depressing" and "a disgrace".

The consequences of this inaction are, for example, “unprecedented heat waves, frightening storms, widespread water shortages”.

States and companies with high greenhouse gas emissions not only turn a blind eye to this, "they are also adding fuel to the fire."

The big emitters are destroying the earth because they do not want to give up their historically based investments in fossil fuels, Guterres criticized.

There are cheaper, renewable energies that could create new jobs, “energy security and greater price stability”.

Further investments in fossil fuels such as coal or oil, on the other hand, are "moral and economic madness".

Guterres warned that the world had a choice between meeting its commitment to the 1.5 degree target or "destroying" the Earth.

Plans to save the earth must be “put into reality and into action now”.