The 1.5°C limit will be breached, the UN chief warns — now the focus shifts to damage control and climate justice for Africa.
Antonio Guterres warned that the world is on course to exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming threshold, urging major economies to accelerate emissions cuts while calling for a dramatic increase in climate financing for Africa.
“The science is unequivocal. The planet will overshoot the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit,” Guterres said. “Our common task is to make that overshoot as small, short and safe as possible.”
He emphasized that the G20, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, must deliver steep reductions this decade to prevent further escalation of climate risks.
At the same time, Guterres highlighted Africa’s untapped clean energy capacity. The continent holds roughly 60 percent of the world’s best solar resources, he noted, yet receives only 2 percent of global clean energy investment. Despite contributing minimally to historic emissions, Africa is warming faster than the global average and faces growing climate impacts.
Adaptation, he said, must be treated as a priority equal to mitigation. Guterres called on developed countries to triple adaptation finance and to mobilize $1.3 trillion annually for developing nations by 2035. He also urged expanded funding for the Loss and Damage mechanism, faster transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy and wider deployment of early warning systems.
Addressing the issue of critical minerals essential to the energy transition, Guterres stressed that African countries must reap fair benefits from their natural resources. “No more exploitation, no more plundering,” he said. “The people of Africa must benefit from the resources of Africa.”
He concluded by reaffirming that partnership with Africa — spanning climate action, peace and sustainable development — will remain central to the United Nations’ agenda in the years ahead.
