Climate Change: Guterres urges to maintain 1.5-Degree limit

Wednesday 03 September 2025 - 10:15

By: Sahili Aya

Climate Change: Guterres urges to maintain 1.5-Degree limit

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called for maintaining the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, a commitment made under the Paris Agreement in 2015.

“As the UN Climate Conference in Brazil approaches, the world must act faster to keep the 1.5-degree limit,” Guterres said during a visit to Papua New Guinea, marking the first visit of a sitting UN Secretary-General to the country.

He described this target as an “immediate turning point” requiring drastic emission reductions that “can no longer wait.” Guterres stressed that G20 countries bear a “special responsibility,” accounting for 80% of climate pollution, and emphasized the financial obligations of industrialized nations in combating climate change.

Developed countries “must honor their commitments to climate finance,” he said, urging a focus on doubling funding for climate adaptation to help countries and communities build resilience.

The UN chief also called for a significant mobilization of the Loss and Damage Fund, established at COP27 in 2022, through innovative financing sources. He highlighted that COP30 in Brazil, scheduled for early November, must propose a “credible path” to meet the $1.3 trillion goal agreed in Baku.

Beyond climate action, Guterres reiterated the importance of development financing, advocating for a reform of the international financial architecture to include broader participation of developing countries in decision-making, concrete debt relief measures, a tripling of multilateral development banks’ lending capacity, and the mobilization of private capital to serve developing nations.