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Global Warming: U.N. Chief Urges Nations to “Lead or Be Led to Ruin”

BRAZIL – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns nations over their failure to limit warming during a summit ahead of the COP30 Climate Conference.

Published

5 months ago

November 6, 2025

Delvardo Emmanuel

BRAZIL – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned nations over their failure to limit warming. His comments come as Brazil hosts world leaders for a summit ahead of the COP30 Climate Conference.

Antonio Guterres – Secretary-General, United Nations
“The challenge is immense but the choices are clear. No one can bargain with physics but we can choose to lead or be led to ruin. Even a temporary average overshoot will have dramatic consequences. It could push ecosystems past irreversible tipping points, expose billions to unlivable conditions, and amplify threats to peace and security. Every fraction of a degree means more hunger, displacement and loss, especially for those least responsible.”

That’s United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke at the opening of the World Leaders Climate Action Summit ahead of COP30 in Belem, Brazil.

The World Leaders Climate Action Summit brings together heads of state and government, ministers, and leaders of international organizations to discuss pressing climate change challenges and commitments.

Guterres told them the hard truth is that we have failed to ensure we remain below 1.5 degrees, which he said was the result of “moral failure and deadly negligence.”

The Secretary-General also called for a paradigm shift to limit this overshoot’s magnitude and duration and quickly drive it down, adding even a temporary overshoot will have dramatic consequences.

The planet’s relentless warming trend has shown no sign of slowing, with 2025 projected to be either the second or third warmest year on record, according to the State of the Global Climate Update 2025 issued by the WMO on Thursday.

It warns that the 11-year stretch from 2015 to 2025 will be the hottest period since records began 176 years ago. Reporting for Our News and reminding you to put sustainability first.