UN chief urges annual emission cuts to limit temperature overshoot

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered remarks at the closing press conference of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP31, held in Antalya. During his address, he emphasized that global warming will temporarily surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius. While preventing this initial threshold breach is no longer possible, he insisted that immediate measures remain vital to minimize how long and how far temperatures exceed that level. To achieve this objective, Guterres urged nations to pursue annual greenhouse gas reductions of approximately 6 percent in the coming years. He also drew attention to the financial hurdles confronting developing and highly vulnerable states, pressing the international community to enhance assistance for climate adaptation and loss and damage efforts. Concluding his final climate summit nearly a decade into his UN leadership, he reminded attendees that individual nations cannot tackle climate challenges alone, underscoring the necessity of collective international cooperation in addressing planetary warming.