Leaders Warned World Is On 'The Highway To Climate Hell'

The world is “on the highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator”, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has warned at the start of Cop27.

- Sophie Wingate

Addressing world leaders at the climate summit in Sharm ElSheikh, Egypt, he said “we are in the fight of our lives – and we are losing”, with greenhouse gases still growing and temperatures still rising. And while the world’s attention is gripped by war in Ukraine, prompting an energy, food and cost of living crisis, and other conflicts, Mr Guterres said: “Climate change is on a different timeline and a different scale. It is the defining issue of our age. It is the central challenge of our century. It is unacceptable, outrageous and self-defeating to put it on the back burner.” He warned: “Today’s crises cannot be an excuse for backsliding or greenwashing.”

The latest round of talks are taking place amid high geopolitical tensions sparked by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, worsening extreme weather, and calls for rich nations to provide finance for the loss and damage hitting poor countries as a result of the climate crisis. Leaders including Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called for an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine as they spoke at the opening ceremony of the summit.