Guterres calls on countries to set clear timelines for transition away from fossil fuels

“We are the first generation with the tools to end the fossil fuel age – and the last who can avert climate catastrophe,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday, calling on countries to draw up credible roadmaps with clear timelines to transition away from fossil fuels.

Key points

• G20 countries, responsible for around 80 per cent of global emissions, must lead the transition
• Climate finance should reach $1.3 trillion a year by 2035, with at least $300 billion mobilized annually for developing countries
• New initiatives announced around power grids and critical minerals, alongside a renewed push on early warning systems

The appeal came in the middle of High-Level Week at UN Headquarters in New York, where the UN Climate Summit 2026 brought together leaders from major economies, vulnerable countries and major energy producers – alongside consumers – to push for faster climate action and greater cooperation.

“The world is crying out for climate justice – in mitigation, in adaptation, in finance. We must answer that call with action,” Mr. Guterres urged.

The UN chief decried the fact that greenhouse gas emissions continue rising when they should be plummeting. 

“Fossil fuel expansion continues – defying science, economics, and common sense,” he said, adding that fossil fuel companies are “banking windfall profits – while everyday people foot the bill.”

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Scientists now expect the world to temporarily exceed the 1.5°C limit for warming above pre-industrial levels set under the 2015 Paris Agreement. The challenge, the UN chief said, is to make that overshoot as small and as short as possible.

There is a way out

“Fortunately, we have a way out. Because the crisis is accelerating – but so are the solutions,” he underscored. Renewables, he said, are the cheapest, fastest, and most secure source of new electricity almost everywhere. Clean energy has gone from alternative to unstoppable”. 

Mr. Guterres called for renewable energy capacity to triple, energy efficiency to double, faster electrification, sharp cuts in methane emissions and an end to deforestation. He also warned that the rapidly growing electricity demand, including from artificial intelligence, must be met with more renewable energy, grids and storage.

“I call on every country to develop a credible roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels – with clear timelines,” he said. 

The G20, responsible for around 80 per cent of global emissions, must lead, he emphasised, reiterating that the transition must also be fair, creating jobs and strengthening social protection while allowing developing countries to shape it and share in its benefits.

A revolution in finance

Mr. Guterres called for at least $300 billion a year to be mobilised for developing countries, with developed countries taking the lead, and for overall climate finance to reach $1.3 trillion annually by 2035. 

He also called for polluters to pay, debt burdens to be eased when disasters strike and developing countries to have a stronger voice in the international financial system. 

The goal, he said, is to “match the revolution in energy with a revolution in finance”.

That finance is also needed for countries already dealing with impacts they cannot avoid. “Without adaptation, droughts become hunger crises; storms become debt crises; and heatwaves become killers”.

Across all fronts the Secretary General expressed that climate action depends on protecting its foundations: science and truth, international law and cooperation.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has confirmed that protecting the climate is an obligation, Mr. Guterres noted, while no country can decarbonise the global economy or shield itself from climate chaos alone.

Grids, minerals and early warnings

The Summit also put forward three initiatives aimed at some of the practical barriers slowing climate action. 

The new Global Grids Accelerator will initially focus on Africa and Southeast Asia, where renewable energy is expanding faster than the electricity networks needed to carry it. 

More than 2,500 gigawatts of renewable projects are currently waiting for grid connections worldwide.

The Accelerator will bring governments, financial institutions and technical partners together to help move priority grid projects towards financing and implementation.

A second initiative under the Task Force on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, will begin work in Guinea, Indonesia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Demand for minerals including copper, lithium, nickel and cobalt is expected to almost triple by 2030. The mechanism is designed to help resource-rich developing countries create more value and jobs at home, while strengthening governance and environmental safeguards.

Finally, the Early Warnings for All initiative , launched in 2022, has mobilized around 2 billion to ensure everyone on Earth is protected by an early warning system by the end of 2027. More than 160 countries are receiving direct support. 

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