The Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, urged this Saturday, November 25, after concluding his three-day visit to Antarctica, to have “more ambition in mitigation and climate justice.” Guterres visited King George Island, where he issued a warning about the rapid melting of ice on the Antarctic continental shelf. During the visit, accompanied by Chilean President Gabriel Boric, he also called on world leaders to intensify their climate commitment at the upcoming COP-28 summit.
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“A sleeping giant,” this is how António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, described after visiting the icy Antarctic continent, about which he said that climate change “is waking it up,” referring to the rapid melting of its glaciers each year. with year.
Guterres explained that September records showed that the surface of Antarctica was “1.5 million square kilometers smaller than the average for the time of year.”
For this reason, the secretary called this Saturday, after concluding a three-day visit to Antarctica, to have “more ambition in mitigation and climate justice.”
“We are witnessing an absolutely devastating acceleration (…) Antarctica is waking up, and the world must wake up,” Guterres said on Friday, from Antarctica, where he also had the opportunity to witness two of the largest glaciers in the area, Collins and Nelson.
The Chilean head of state joined the Portuguese diplomat’s concern. In a publication on his social networks, Boric highlighted the importance of making visible the consequences of the Antarctic melting and not lifting the finger on the line referring to the protection of the “white continent”especially on the eve of the next United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP), to be held in Dubai between November 30 and December 12.
“Not only is Antarctica home to 90% of the planet’s ice and 77% of available fresh water: its seas are key in regulating the climate at a global level,” the Chilean president stressed in a message on his profile of X, formerly known as Twitter.
Guterres calls for “more ambition” for COP 28
During his tour on the cold Antarctic surface, the head of the United Nations called the upcoming global climate summit an opportunity for the world’s nations to “decide to phase out fossil fuels in an appropriate timeframe”also aiming to reach the goal of not exceeding the global temperature increase set at 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“We must leave here with a reinforced will and energy for the COP and call on political leaders at the global level who have to assume their responsibilities against climate change to save Antarctica and the planet,” declared Guterres, emphasizing the world need to have “more ambition on climate justice.”
COP 28 will take place in the United Arab Emirates, a venue that has caused controversy for being a focus of the global oil industry and one of the main suppliers of fossil fuels to the main world powers, with the highest rates of greenhouse gas emissions. greenhouse effect. Regarding this, Guterres invited the organizers to have “greater responsibility” for the transition to green energy.
With AP, EFE and local media
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