There's Still Time To Avoid Worst Climate Catastrophe But 'Leaders Must Act - Now': UN Chief

United Nations, Jan 12, 2025: Highlighting the severity of the climate crisis, UN chief Antonio Guterres has said there's still time to avoid the worst of climate catastrophe, "but leaders must act - now".
      
"Global heating is a cold, hard fact," Guterres said in a statement on Friday after Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently reported 2024 as the hottest year on record.

Noting that 2024 is likely to be the first calendar year with a global mean temperature exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the UN Secretary-General said: "Individual years pushing past the 1.5 degree limit do not mean the long-term goal is shot. It means we need to fight even harder to get on track."

"We have just endured the hottest decade on record - with 2024 topping the list, and likely to be the first calendar year with a global mean temperature of more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels... Blazing temperatures in 2024 require trail-blazing climate action in 2025," he said.
     
The UN chief asserted that governments must deliver new national climate action plans this year to limit long-term global temperature rise to 1.5°C, and stressed the need to support vulnerable communities facing devastating climate impacts. "There's still time to avoid the worst of climate catastrophe. But leaders must act – now," he said.

WMO on Friday announced that 2024 was the hottest year on record, at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.