UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called on wealthy nations to end coal use by 2030 so the world can meet its goals to curb global warming, urging G7 nations to make that commitment before or at a leaders’ summit in June.
In a video message to a virtual gathering of the “Powering Past Coal Alliance”, Guterres said emissions-cutting pledges by governments fell far short of what is needed to limit climate heating to 1.5 °C above preindustrial levels.
But if immediate action were taken to end use of what he called the dirtiest, most polluting and increasingly costly fossil fuel in power generation, “then we have a fighting chance to succeed”, he added.
