Addis Ababa, November 11, 2026 (FMC) – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that a temporary breach of the 1.5°C global warming threshold set under the Paris Agreement is now inevitable, urging world leaders to accelerate emissions reductions, overhaul climate financing and hold major fossil-fuel polluters accountable for the damage caused by climate change.
Addressing the opening of the COP31 Leaders’ Summit in Antalya, Türkiye, Guterres stressed that the climate crisis is advancing faster than the international response, with global emissions reaching record levels in 2025 and the past four years marking the hottest on record. He cautioned that continued delays would deepen the risks to human lives, livelihoods and economies.
While acknowledging that the world is likely to exceed the 1.5°C threshold, the UN chief insisted that this must not become a permanent outcome. He maintained that the scale and duration of the overshoot remain within humanity’s power to influence through decisive action, stressing that the scientific evidence demands accelerated efforts rather than surrender.
Guterres identified three lessons for the coming decade, emphasizing that rapid transformation is possible, the economic and security case for fossil fuels is weakening, and global climate action remains far too slow. He noted that solar power has expanded dramatically over the past decade and that electric vehicles are gaining a growing share of global car sales, while clean energy has become the cheapest source of new electricity across much of the world.
He called for a science-aligned, just and orderly transition away from fossil fuels, warning that global emissions must decline by approximately six percent annually. However, current national climate plans, even if fully implemented, would deliver at best only one-third of the required reductions and leave the world facing warming of more than 2.5°C by the end of the century.
At the centre of his address was a call for a new climate justice compact founded on shared responsibility, shared security and shared benefits. Guterres argued that developing economies, which are home to nearly two-thirds of humanity outside China, receive less than one-fifth of global clean energy investment, while many face borrowing costs two to three times higher than those paid by wealthier countries.
He stressed that countries cannot be expected to transform their economies while being denied the financial resources, technology and capacity-building needed to make the transition. Under the proposed compact, developed countries must accelerate emissions reductions and deliver promised support, emerging economies must advance their transition to renewable energy, and developing countries must receive substantial assistance to adapt to climate impacts.
On climate finance, Guterres called on developed countries to lead in delivering at least 300 billion dollars annually by 2035, alongside concrete plans to at least triple adaptation finance by that year. He also insisted that the 1.3 trillion-dollar climate finance goal must translate into actual financial flows to developing countries.
He urged multilateral development banks to go beyond their Baku commitment of 120 billion dollars annually by 2030, calling for greater lending capacity, increased private investment and innovative financing instruments that respond to the circumstances of vulnerable countries. He further pressed donors to ensure ambitious replenishment of the Green Climate Fund and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage.
In one of the strongest parts of his address, the UN chief called for fossil-fuel companies to contribute to addressing the climate damage associated with their industry. Citing figures from the nine largest oil companies, he said they had earned 95 billion dollars in profits in the previous quarter alone, while the Loss and Damage Fund had received approximately 600 million dollars.
Guterres argued that the oil companies had generated in about 14 hours what the fund had received, calling on governments to tax windfall profits from fossil fuels and channel the proceeds towards helping vulnerable countries recover from climate impacts. “Polluters must pay,” he declared.
The Secretary-General also called for a faster and more comprehensive approach to adaptation, insisting that every person on earth should be covered by an early warning system and every community protected against floods, droughts and rising seas. Where adaptation reaches its limits, he said, support for loss and damage must be swift and accessible.
He further urged countries to overcome trade barriers, technology monopolies and geopolitical rivalries that impede climate cooperation, arguing that international climate negotiations must increasingly be measured by tangible implementation on the ground. He pointed to UN efforts to bring countries and partners together on electricity grids, critical minerals, methane reduction and early warning systems as areas requiring stronger collective action.
Guterres also paid tribute to young people, scientists, Indigenous communities, civil society and small island developing states, describing them as the conscience of the global climate struggle. As he prepares to conclude his tenure as UN Secretary-General next year, he pledged to continue advocating for climate action, saying he would remain alongside those working for a sustainable future.
His address at COP31 placed climate justice, the transition away from fossil fuels, adaptation and the delivery of climate finance at the centre of the global response, as world leaders convene in Antalya under the theme “Towards a Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Future.”