UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General António Guterres has urged the world to “team up and speed up” to avoid a climate disaster as rains and rising temperatures cause havoc across the globe.

“Unless humanity acts together, we are heading for disaster. We need to team up – and speed up”, the UN chief said while addressing the Council of The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Tuesday.

The SCO is the world’s largest regional security body in terms of landmass and population which currently includes China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran.

The UN has had a cooperation agreement with the Asia-focused SCO since 2010, which also partners with multiple UN agencies. This year the summit is being hosted via videoconference by India. Mr Guterres cited his Climate Solidarity Pact aimed at big carbon emitters and developing countries, backing support for emerging economies.

“Climate action is the fight of our lives, and SCO members have an important role to play”, said. At another meeting thus week, the UN chief said limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C was attainable, but required a 45 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.

He said his proposal for a climate solidarity pact urges major emitters to intensify emissions cuts and wealthy nations to support emerging economies in their efforts.

“I urge governments to hit fast forward on their net-zero deadlines so that developed countries commit to reaching net-zero as close as possible to 2040 and emerging economies as close as possible to 2050,” he said.

He also invited developed countries to “finally make good on their financial commitments to developing nations”, including by doubling adaptation finance and replenishing the Green Climate Fund.”

On Monday, UN rights chief Volker Türk warned that global heating had become “a burning human rights issue,” as extreme weather and climate disasters threaten humanity’s universal right to food.

“We must not leave this for our children to fix – no matter how inspiring their activism,” he told the Human Rights Council, advocating for a “just transition” to a green economy.

“I ask every member of this Council to take this clear message out of the Palais des Nations and into every aspect of their work,” he said, stressing that it was today’s leaders who had the responsibility to take climate action.

Mr Türk warned that on the world’s current trajectory, “our air, our food, our water, and human life itself would be unrecognizable”, with an average temperature increase by the end of the century soaring to 3°C, well above the 1.5°C limit, as outlined in the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2023