The time is no longer for muffled words of diplomacy, but for awareness, and even better for action. So when it comes to talking about the climate, Antonio Guterres, the head of the UN, shows his fangs. Especially since the publication of the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which points to the need for radical and immediate changes to limit global warming to 1.5°C above average. pre-industrial temperatures.
The latest example, at COP27, where Antonio Guterres castigated companies that make “false” promises of carbon neutrality. “This attempt at a toxic cover-up could knock the world off the climate cliff. This sham must end,” he insisted.
Here are five shocking sentences uttered by Antonio Guterres in recent months.
The ecological awareness of the former Prime Minister of Portugal (1995 to 2002) came late, when the socialist was appointed United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2005. He remained in this position for ten years and did not remain insensitive to the 25 million climate refugees per year.
Elected UN Secretary General in 2016 and re-elected in 2021, Antonio Guterres then made the fight against global warming his main battle. “As soon as he has a trip, he tries to put a climate dimension to it”, reports one of his advisers in a portrait dedicated to him France Info. Will it (finally) be heard at COP27?