Departing U.N. Chief Calls This 'a Moment of Truth' in Fight to Curb Global Warming

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is delivering one final, urgent warning about climate change. As U.N. climate talks begin in Turkey on Monday, Guterres says the world has reached 'a moment of truth.' This is his last major push on the issue before his second and final term ends at the close of the year. He wants world leaders to stop delaying and start taking real action — now.

Guterres has been warning about climate change for more than a decade. Over the years, his language has grown stronger and more urgent. Three years ago, he even declared, 'The era of global boiling has arrived,' pointing to rising temperatures and more extreme weather events like hurricanes, floods, and heat waves. But this year, the message feels different — because it is his last chance to deliver it as the head of the U.N.

The climate conference, known as COP31, is scheduled to run from Monday through November 20. During a recent interview, Guterres used the phrase 'moment of truth' three separate times in just 20 minutes. He spoke from his conference room on the 38th floor of U.N. headquarters. His message was clear: every country and every leader must do more, and they must do it right now.

One of the hardest moments of Guterres's career came just last year. He had always planned to tell world leaders that the Paris Agreement's goal — limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial temperatures — was still achievable. But when he sat down with scientists before a major speech, they stopped him. They told him he could no longer say the goal was reachable, because too much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases had already been released into the atmosphere.

'Scientists told me you cannot say that because that's no longer true,' Guterres said. He described the moment as an enormous shock and 'one of the most difficult days of my life.' The 1.5-degree target had been the centerpiece of global climate efforts since it was agreed upon in Paris in 2015. Now, the focus has shifted to limiting how far past that threshold the world will go.

Guterres was careful to explain who he thinks is responsible for this failure. He does not blame the planet or ordinary people — he blames political leaders. 'It's not the world that's failed, it's the political leadership that's failed,' he said. He argued that solving climate change requires long-term planning, but many governments change their policies too often to make steady progress.

There are other major problems making climate action harder. Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are disrupting energy supplies. The rapid rise of artificial intelligence is using enormous amounts of electricity and water, adding to carbon emissions. Guterres warned that all these challenges are piling up at the same time, making it even harder to focus on the climate.

Three years ago, Guterres visited the high mountain peaks of Nepal to warn about melting glaciers. He said that swollen glacier lakes could burst and cause devastating floods and landslides. Sadly, in August of this year, those floods came — killing more than 1,400 people and leaving 5,600 others missing. Scientists confirmed that climate change made those disasters worse.

Guterres believes that fossil fuel companies should help pay to repair the damage done by climate change. He noted that these companies have been making huge profits while the world suffers. He said those extra profits should be taxed, and that money should go to countries hit hardest by climate disasters. He feels the people most hurt by climate change are often the ones who did the least to cause it.

Guterres admits that the secretary-general of the U.N. does not have a lot of real power. Countries do not have to follow U.N. instructions, and powerful nations can block decisions. But Guterres says there is one powerful tool his office does have — a voice. The advice he plans to pass on to his successor is just three simple words: 'Tell the truth.'