Work together on climate

GBNEWS24DESK//

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres yesterday heaped pressure on G20 nations to work together to slow global warming, saying their action, or inaction, would dictate the fate of the planet.

Guterres was speaking on the Indonesian island of Bali ahead of the annual Group of 20 summit hosted this year by Indonesia, a week after warning a UN climate conference in Egypt that the world was “on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.”

Guterres has proposed a ‘Climate Solidarity Pact’, under which developed economies make additional efforts to limit rising global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius while providing financial and technical help to speed emerging economies’ transition to renewable energy sources.

“G20 leaders can make or break the Climate Solidarity Pact,” Guterres said.

“Action – or inaction – by the G20 will determine whether every member of our human family has a chance to live sustainably and peacefully, on a healthy planet.”

On a separate issue to be addressed by the G20, Guterres took aim at global technology firms that he said have allowed their platforms to be used for human rights and privacy abuses, reports AFP.

He called for “global guardrails” to defend an open and free internet for all.