World Climate Conference: UN chief: Fossil fuels must die like dinosaurs

Antalya. At the World Climate Conference, UN Secretary General António Guterres used dramatic words to warn of escalating global warming and called for much higher taxes to be imposed on the immense profits of large oil companies. The money must flow primarily to vulnerable countries that are suffering from the climate crisis. “The polluters have to pay!” he shouted at the start of the two-day summit to dozens of heads of state and government in Antalya, Turkey.

Climate-damaging fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas must die out like the dinosaurs, demanded Guterres. "But it doesn't happen by itself. The dinosaurs didn't have a lobby, but fossil fuels did."

Guterres called it a “brutal truth” that the climate crisis is eluding humanity. Emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases would have reached a historic high in 2025. “The past four years have been the hottest ever recorded.”

At the two-week conference with more than 90,000 participants, representatives from more than 190 countries discussed how to contain the climate crisis and financial aid for poor countries, many of which are particularly suffering from the fatal consequences. Depending on the region, these include more severe and frequent heat waves, droughts, forest fires as well as storms and floods.

Guterres warned that there was no alternative to phasing out oil, coal and gas. Every government must develop credible roadmaps for this. “That means: no new coal, no new oil and gas infrastructure.”

Science now says that exceeding the critical mark of 1.5 degrees in global warming is inevitable, said Guterres. “However, it does not call on us to give up – on the contrary: it calls on us to fight more resolutely.” It is up to the global community to decide how strong, how long and how devastating this overshoot will be. "But that requires leadership. We know the truth. Now we must act accordingly."