Glasgow, Scotland: Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres said the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 F) was “on living support” with climate talks in Glasgow so far did not reach three UN goals, but he add it “until the last moment, hope must be maintained”.
In an exclusive interview on Thursday with the Associated Press, Guterres said the UN climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland “were in important moments” and needed to complete more than securing the agreement participating to support.
“The worst is reaching an agreement with all costs by the minimum general denominator that will not respond to the big challenges we face,” Guterres said.
That’s because the overall goal of limiting heating since pre-industrial time up to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 F) at the end of the century “is still on range but on life support,” said Guterres.
The world has warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit), leaving less than one degree before the threshold was hit.
“It is time to reach an agreement by increasing ambitions in all fields: mitigation, adaptation and finance in a balanced way,” said Guterres in an AP 25 minutes interview.
The US-Chinese agreement announced Wednesday giving some expectations of negotiations that resulted in significant progress.