While Climate Change Conference Has Delivered Progress, Gap to What Science Demands Is ‘Dangerously Wide’, Secretary-General Warns, Urging Deep, Fast Emission Cuts

The following statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was issued today:

I thank President Lula da Silva, COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago and his team, the Government of Brazil, the people of Belém, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat for their hospitality and tireless efforts to make this COP possible.

At the gateway of the Amazon, Parties have reached an agreement. This shows that multilateralism is alive, and that nations can still come together to confront the defining challenges no country can solve alone.

COP30 has delivered progress — including a call to triple adaptation finance by 2035 as a first step towards closing the adaptation gap; a Just Transition Mechanism to support countries in protecting workers and communities as they shift to clean energy; a new dialogue aimed at enhancing international cooperation on trade; the recognition that we are now heading for a temporary overshoot above 1.5°C; the launch of a Global Implementation Accelerator to close the ambition and implementation gaps and accelerate the delivery of nationally determined contributions; and a recognition to take forward the outcomes of the UAE [United Arab Emirates] Consensus, which includes a just, orderly and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.

But COPs are consensus-based — and in a period of geopolitical divides, consensus is ever harder to reach.

I cannot pretend that COP30 has delivered everything that is needed. The gap between where we are and what science demands remains dangerously wide. I understand many may feel disappointed, especially young people, Indigenous Peoples and those living through climate chaos.

The reality of overshoot is a stark warning: we are approaching dangerous and irreversible tipping points. Staying below 1.5°C by the end of the century must remain humanity’s red line.

That requires deep, rapid emission cuts with clear and credible plans to transition away from fossil fuels and towards clean energy. It requires climate justice and a massive surge in adaptation and resilience, so communities on the frontlines can survive and recover from the climate disasters to come. And it requires far more climate finance for developing countries to reduce emissions, protect their people, and address loss and damage.

COP30 is over, but our work is not. I will continue pushing for higher ambition and greater solidarity. To all those who marched, negotiated, advised, reported and mobilized: Do not give up. History is on your side, and so is the United Nations.