United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday called for a new global climate justice agreement and urged governments to tax fossil fuel companies. He spoke at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, where world leaders arrived for a two-day high-level summit.
According to UN News, Guterres said the planet is heading toward more than 2.5°C of warming by the end of the century even if countries fully carry out their current national plans. He called it “make or bake time.” He also said that passing the 1.5°C threshold does not mean giving up, because every fraction of a degree avoided matters.
Guterres proposed a “climate justice compact” with four priorities. They are speeding the move off fossil fuels through country-level plans that shield workers and local communities; protecting vulnerable people with early-warning systems and faster help after disasters; delivering affordable climate finance, with wealthy countries meeting their commitments; and strengthening cooperation to overcome trade barriers, technology gaps and geopolitical rivalries.
He urged governments to tax windfall profits, meaning unusually large earnings, of fossil fuel companies. He said the world’s nine largest oil companies earned $95 billion in one quarter. By comparison, he said, the international fund that helps vulnerable countries recover from climate-related loss and damage has received roughly $600 million, or about 14 hours of those companies’ profits. His line “Polluters must pay” drew an ovation in the plenary, UN News reported. The report did not say what tax rate or design he proposed.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose country is co-hosting the conference with Australia, said three decades of climate talks have not produced matching results in implementation. He called for more support for developing countries. Brazilian President Lula da Silva said climate change is losing attention as wars and trade disputes dominate the agenda. He said Brazil would prepare national roadmaps for cutting its reliance on fossil fuels and halting deforestation.
On a thematic day focused on zero waste, Guterres asked the UN Environment Programme to draw up a worldwide benchmark for nearly eliminating methane releases from oil and gas operations. Methane is a heat-trapping gas that UN News said is responsible for nearly a third of global warming to date. Julia Ferini, who leads the programme’s International Methane Emissions Observatory, said its satellite and artificial intelligence monitoring has helped cut emissions in 45 cases across 13 countries. She cited an Iraqi gas pipeline that leaked for two years before a coating stopped it.
Guterres noted that barely one in eight of the more than 5,000 methane alerts issued since 2023 has received a response, according to UN News.
Negotiations continued alongside the speeches. UN News said developing countries are pushing for more predictable funding and warned of shortfalls in adaptation support. Nepal’s request for help after a glacial collapse raised questions about how fast emergency money can reach affected countries. Countries also disagreed over how long a UN program to speed up emissions cuts should continue and how it should work, while negotiators discussed a new mechanism to support a fair shift to cleaner economies.