UN Secretary-General António Guterres has issued a stark ultimatum to world leaders at the Brazil climate summit: end your “captivity to fossil fuel interests” or be responsible for a “moral failure” of historic proportions.
His speech in the Amazonian city of Belem was a blistering critique of global inaction. Guterres warned that allowing the 1.5-degree Celsius warming limit to be breached would be an act of “deadly negligence,” leading to “more hunger, displacement and loss.”
The UN chief’s anger was clearly aimed at the world’s major powers. His speech was underscored by the “reduced participation” at the summit, as the leaders of the top three polluters—the United States, China, and India—were all absent from the preliminary gathering.
Against this backdrop of failure, Brazil’s President Lula da Silva is offering a different path. His “Tropical Forests Forever Facility” is a $5.5 billion fund designed to pay 74 developing nations to protect the rainforests, which are essential for absorbing emissions.
This fund, backed by $3 billion from Norway, is a concrete, non-fossil-fuel solution. It represents the very “public interest” Guterres accused leaders of ignoring, offering a tangible way to fight for the 1.5-degree goal.