6 November 2025
“Every fraction of a degree means
more hunger, displacement, and loss – especially for those
least responsible. It could push ecosystems past
irreversible tipping points, expose billions to unlivable
conditions, and amplify threats to peace and security,”
Mr. Guterres told leaders in Belém.
Failure to
contain global heating amounts to “moral failure and
deadly negligence,” he added.
Each year that is
warmer, he said, “will hammer economies, deepen
inequalities and impact developing countries hardest —
even though they did least to cause it.”
“After
decades of denial and delay, science now tells us that a
temporary overshoot beyond the 1.5°C limit – starting at
the latest in the early 2030s – is inevitable,” Mr.
Guterres continued.
Paradigm shift
“We need
a fundamental paradigm shift to limit this overshoot’s
magnitude and duration and quickly drive it down. Even a
temporary overshoot will unleash far greater destruction and
costs for every nation.”
Echoing his remarks, World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) chief Celeste Saulo said
that greenhouse gas emissions are now at their highest level
in 800,000 years.
“From January to August this year,
the Earth’s average temperature was about 1.42°C above
pre-industrial levels, with oceans also reaching record
highs, which is inflicting lasting damage on marine
ecosystems and economies,” she said.
2025 on track
to be among hottest ever
The planet’s relentless
warming trend has shown no sign of slowing, with 2025
projected to be either the second or third warmest year on
record, according to the State of the Global Climate Update
2025 issued by the WMO on Thursday.
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It warns that the
11-year stretch from 2015 to 2025 will be the hottest period
since records began 176 years ago.
“This
unprecedented streak of high temperatures, combined with
last year’s record increase in greenhouse gas levels,
makes it clear that it will be virtually impossible to limit
global warming to 1.5°C in the next few years without
temporarily overshooting this target,” said WMO
Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
Reversal still
possible
She stressed that science still shows it is
possible to bring temperatures back below that threshold by
the end of the century.
The report paints a stark
picture of compounding climate impacts. Arctic sea ice
reached its lowest winter maximum on record, while Antarctic
sea ice remained well below average.
Global sea level
rise, nearly twice as fast as in the 1990s, continued to
accelerate due to ocean warming and ice melt.
Extreme
weather events – from devastating floods and storms to
prolonged heatwaves and wildfires – have disrupted food
systems, displaced communities and hindered economic
development across multiple regions.
‘Red line for
humanity’
The Secretary-General told COP30 that the
1.5°C limit remains “a red line for humanity”, calling
for rapid emissions cuts, an accelerated phase-out of fossil
fuels, and stronger protection of forests and
oceans.
Mr. Guterres highlighted the growing momentum
of the clean energy revolution, noting that investments in
renewables now exceed those in fossil fuels by $800 billion.
“Clean energy is winning in price, performance, and
potential,” he said, “but what is still missing is
political courage.”
Also addressing delegates,
Marinez Scherer, COP30’s Special Envoy for the Ocean,
urged nations to unite efforts for both forests and oceans,
calling them “one living system” that shapes the
planet’s climate.
“Science is clear – we cannot
solve the climate crisis unless we act together for the
ocean,” she said, pointing to the Amazon and the Atlantic
as symbols of this connection.
Dr. Scherer, a marine
biologist and coastal management expert at Brazil’s
Federal University of Santa Catarina, noted that the ocean
produces over half of the world’s oxygen, absorbs 90 per
cent of excess heat, and sustains billions of livelihoods
— yet receives less than one per cent of global climate
finance.
“Protecting the ocean and the Amazon is not
just an environmental imperative, but a collective act of
survival,” she said. “The ocean cannot wait, and neither
can
we.”
