UN Sec-Gen Warns Of ‘Climate Chaos’ Ahead of COP 27

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (dpa)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (dpa)
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UN Sec-Gen Warns Of ‘Climate Chaos’ Ahead of COP 27

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (dpa)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (dpa)

Weeks away from the 27th session of the UN Climate Conference (COP 27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of "climate chaos," explaining that the increasing emissions are at "an all-time high and rising."

He called on G20 of the world's wealthiest developed countries, companies, and investors to clarify their delivery of the $100 billion annual pledge to support climate action in developing countries.

The Sec-Gen was speaking at the pre-COP 27 ministerial preparatory meetings in Kinshasa amid efforts to curb the steady rise in atmospheric temperature, keeping it below the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold by 2040.

The earth's temperature has risen 1.1°C from pre-industrial levels, and current pledges and policies are shutting the door on the chance to limit global temperature rise to 2°C, let alone meet the 1.5°C, said Guterres, noting that the "work ahead is immense."

He indicated that "as immense as the climate impacts we are seeking around the world," climate change recently led to the flooding of a third of Pakistan, while Europe experienced "the hottest summer in 500 years," and the "whole of Cuba in black-out."

"Here, in the United States, Hurricane Ian has delivered a brutal reminder that no country and no economy is immune from the climate crisis."

He noted that while "climate chaos gallops ahead, climate action has stalled," considering that the Sharm el-Sheikh conference is "critical," but "we have a long way to go."

The Sec-Gen described the collective commitments of G20 governments as "far too little and far too late."

He reiterated that "there is no time to point fingers," urging "a game-changing, quantum level compromise between developed and emerging economies."

"Every government, every business, every investor, every institution must step up with concrete climate actions for net zero."

The Sec-Gen indicated that developed countries need to show evidence of how they will double adaptation finance to at least $40 billion in 2025, as agreed in Glasgow.

Guterres said Multilateral Development Banks, including the World Bank, must raise their game, considering the Resilience and Sustainability Trust led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a "good start."

The Small Island Developing States and other vulnerable middle-income countries need access to concessional finance for adaptation to protect their communities and infrastructure, asserted the Sec-Gen.

"I am urging leaders at the highest level to take full part in COP 27 and tell the world what climate action they will take nationally and globally," he concluded.



UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Action to Stop ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

 UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Action to Stop ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

 UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)

The United Nations’ special rapporteur for Gaza and the West Bank said Tuesday that it's time for nations around the world to take concrete actions to stop what she called the “genocide” in Gaza.

Francesca Albanese spoke to delegates from 30 countries meeting in Colombia’s capital to discuss the Israel-Hamas war and ways that nations can try to stop Israel’s military offensive in the territory. Many of the participating nations have described the violence as genocide against the Palestinians.

“Each state must immediately review and suspend all ties with the State of Israel ... and ensure its private sector does the same,” Albanese said. “The Israeli economy is structured to sustain the occupation that has now turned genocidal.”

The two-day conference organized by the governments of Colombia and South Africa is being attended mostly by developing nations, although the governments of Spain, Ireland and China have also sent delegates.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.”

Analysts say it’s not clear whether the conference's participating countries have enough leverage over Israel to force it to change its policies in Gaza, where more than 58,000 people have been killed in Israeli military operations following a deadly Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. The death toll comes from the health ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas government and does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

“The United States has so far failed to influence Israel’s behavior ... so it is naive to think that this group of countries can have any influence over (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s behavior or on the government of Israel,” said Sandra Borda, a professor of international relations at Bogota’s Los Andes University.

She said, however, that the conference will enable some nations of the Global South to clarify their position toward the conflict and have their voices heard.

The conference is co-chaired by the governments of South Africa and Colombia, which last year suspended coal exports to Israeli power plants, and includes the participation of members of The Hague Group, a coalition of eight nations that earlier this year pledged to cut military ties with Israel and to comply with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu.

For decades, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party has compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank with its own history of oppression under the harsh apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Blacks to “homelands” before ending in 1994.

South Africa’s current argument is rooted in the sentiment that Palestinians have been oppressed in their homeland as Black South Africans were under apartheid.

The gathering comes as the European Union weighs various measures against Israel that include a ban on imports from Israeli settlements, an arms embargo and individual sanctions against Israeli officials, who are found to be blocking a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Colombia’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Mauricio Jaramillo said Monday that the nations participating in the Bogota meeting, which also include Qatar and Türkiye, will be discussing diplomatic and judicial measures that can be taken to put more pressure on Israel to cease its attacks.

The Colombian official described Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as an affront to the international order.

“This is not just about Palestine” Jaramillo said in a press conference. “It is about defending international law... and the right to self-determination.”