UN chief calls for “record action” from world leaders to tackle climate change

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for “record action” from world leaders to tackle climate change.

Present climate trends are racing planet Earth down a dead-end three-degree temperature rise, he said at the launch of the Emissions Gap Report 2023 of the UN Environment Programme.

“In short, the report shows that the emissions gap is more like an emissions canyon — a canyon littered with broken promises, broken lives, and broken records,” said Guterres.

All of this is a failure of leadership, a betrayal of the vulnerable people, and a massive missed opportunity, he said, urging leaders to drastically improve their policies “with record ambition, record action, and record emissions reductions.”