Guterres: Missing the 1.5°C Paris Target Would Be a 'Moral Failure' — Calls for Rapid End to Fossil Fuel Expansion at COP30

UN Secretary‑General Warns of a 'Moral Failure' if 1.5°C Target Is Missed

Belém, Brazil — United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres told world leaders on Thursday that failing to keep global warming within the 1.5°C limit set by the 2015 Paris Agreement would represent "a moral failure" and "deadly negligence." Speaking at the opening summit ahead of COP30, Guterres said it is "inevitable" the 1.5°C threshold will be crossed by the early 2030s if humanity continues to rely on fossil fuels.

"Every fraction of a degree higher means more hunger, more displacement, more economic hardship, and more lives and ecosystems lost." — António Guterres

Guterres urged governments to accelerate the shift to renewable energy and to stop approving new coal plants and new oil and gas exploration or expansion. He also demanded that countries honor their 2019 pledge to end global deforestation by 2030, warning that current efforts "fall far short of what is needed." According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, nearly 7 million hectares of primary forest were lost in 2024 despite that pledge.

Pathway, Overshoot and Policy Failures

The UN chief warned that under current national policies the world is on track for roughly 2.8°C of warming this century. While he described the 1.5°C goal as "a red line for humanity," he suggested that any exceedance might be a temporary overshoot if decisive, large‑scale action is taken quickly.

"If we act now, at great speed and scale, we can make the overshoot as small, as short, and as safe as possible — and bring temperatures back below 1.5°C before the end of the century," Guterres said, while criticizing continued government subsidies to oil, gas and coal and the industries' spending on lobbying and misinformation.

COP30: Leaders, Priorities and Political Headwinds

World leaders gathered in Belém for a two‑day political summit ahead of formal COP30 negotiations. European leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer attended, alongside senior EU and UN officials. Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he expects tangible outcomes from the two‑week meeting, which is expected to draw more than 70,000 participants from roughly 200 countries.

The summit faces a difficult political backdrop: wars, economic uncertainty and fiscal pressures are constraining climate action, and the United States — now led politically by Donald Trump — is advancing a fossil fuel agenda and will not send a high‑level delegation to COP30.

• Leaders planned to launch a multibillion‑dollar fund to protect tropical forests, often called the planet's "green lungs."
• Delegates aimed to strengthen global wildfire management and spotlight Brazil’s sustainable fuels initiative, which seeks to quadruple production and use by 2035.
• Negotiators prepared a declaration linking efforts to combat hunger and poverty with climate protection policies.

Lula: "The COP of Truth"

President Lula framed COP30 as "the COP of truth," noting the symbolic importance of holding the summit in the Amazon — home to thousands of plant and animal species and a critical carbon sink. He called for "courage and determination" and argued that solutions must be grounded in science and global justice.

"Climate justice is an ally in the fight against hunger and poverty," Lula said, urging richer nations and corporations to align policy and finance with the urgent measures scientists recommend to limit warming and protect vulnerable communities.

All facts and figures in this article are based on statements made at COP30 and reporting from participating organizations and officials.