UN chief Guterres urges rapid phase‑out of fossil fuels and methane cuts

At the London Climate Action Week, UN Secretary‑General António Guterres called for an accelerated global transition away from fossil fuels. He warned that the current energy shock – driven by the war in the Middle East – is the “mother of all energy crises” and that continued reliance on oil and gas deepens both climate change and energy‑security risks.

Guterres outlined a seven‑point plan: peak emissions immediately and reach net‑zero by 2050, triple renewable‑energy capacity, end subsidies for new fossil‑fuel projects and tax extraordinary fossil‑fuel profits, impose a global methane‑reduction target with three actions in energy, agriculture and waste, demand AI firms disclose the carbon, water and land footprints of their data centres and power them with renewables by 2030, mobilise $300 billion in adaptation finance and $1.3 trillion annually by 2035 for developing countries, and protect climate science and journalists.

He stressed that the G20, responsible for about 80 % of emissions, must lead the effort, and noted that existing technologies can cut up to 70 % of methane emissions from the oil‑gas sector at low or even negative cost. The plan also calls for a just transition that creates jobs and supports vulnerable communities.