Outgoing UN chief Antonio Guterres hosted his final climate summit in New York, denouncing “Big Oil” and urging urgent action as extreme weather and a powerful El Niño raise risks. Leaders from Turkey and Australia spoke ahead of COP31 in Antalya, where the two countries will serve as split hosts. The summit focused on emissions cuts, mobilizing finance for vulnerable countries, and accelerating electrification, while underscoring that renewable energy expansion must outpace growing demand.
Guterres Hosts Final UN Climate Summit, Blasts ‘Big Oil’ as COP31 Approaches
UN chief Antonio Guterres has made climate change a defining issue of his tenure that ends on December 31 (ANGELA WEISS)
Outgoing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres convened his final high-level climate summit at United Nations headquarters in New York, renewing sharp criticism of major oil companies and urging urgent global action as the planet faces mounting climate risks.
A Warning at a Critical Moment
The summit comes as extreme weather events intensify worldwide — from heat waves and wildfires across Europe to catastrophic flooding in Nepal and parts of Tibet after a glacier collapse. Scientists warn that an unusually strong El Niño, tied for the most intense on record, will aggravate extreme weather and increase the likelihood the world will temporarily exceed 1.5°C of warming, a threshold associated with significantly worse climate impacts.
Strong Words for Fossil Fuel Interests
Guterres used the event to call out what he described as “Big Oil” for treating the atmosphere like an “open sewer.” He noted that, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, five major Western oil companies have earned nearly half a trillion dollars in profits — a stark contrast with the roughly $34 billion mobilized so far to help developing countries adapt to climate change.
“Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, five major Western oil companies have pocketed nearly half a trillion dollars in profits,” Guterres said, highlighting the imbalance between corporate profit and adaptation finance.
Agenda: Emissions Cuts, Finance, Electrification
The “High-level Event on Climate Action and the Just Transition” featured opening remarks by Guterres and speeches from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The agenda urged leaders to accelerate emissions reductions, mobilize financing for vulnerable countries, and scale up electrification — shifting heating, transport and other systems from combustion to electricity.
Turkey has proposed a “35x35” goal to increase electricity’s share of global final energy consumption to 35% by 2035, but the target does not explicitly require that the additional electricity be generated from renewables — a distinction that experts say is essential to truly cut emissions.
Renewables Growth — But Demand Is Rising Faster
There are hopeful signs: global renewable power capacity expanded by a record amount last year. Yet rising electricity demand — driven by expanding air conditioning needs and energy-hungry data centers for AI — means clean energy is not scaling quickly enough to displace fossil fuels.
Eyes on COP31 and Loss & Damage
Turkey and Australia will co-host COP31 in Antalya this November in a split arrangement: Australia will run the talks while Turkey hosts and seeks voluntary pledges. Observers will closely watch how ambitious the two fossil-fuel-dependent economies prove to be in the run-up to COP31.
The summit may also include pledges to support Nepal, where recent floods and a glacier collapse left thousands missing. Nepalese Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal stressed that financial aid is “not a matter of charity; it is a matter of legal and moral liability.” Climate experts say the international response will be a test of the Loss and Damage Fund — a mechanism created to help the most vulnerable countries but so far underfunded.
What To Watch Next
- Commitments and financing pledged ahead of COP31 in Antalya.
- Whether the 35x35 target is linked explicitly to renewable generation.
- Progress on funding for the Loss and Damage Fund and aid for Nepal.
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