Multilateralism works even as US, fossil fuel industry oppose climate action, UN chief says

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By Valerie Volcovici

Dec 3 (Reuters) – The final outcome of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil last month was “disappointing,” but showed multilateralism still works in the absence of the United States’ participation and amid growing geopolitical tensions, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Reuters Next conference in New York on Wednesday.

“I have mixed feelings about the COP,” Guterres said about the annual UN climate negotiations that took place on the edge of the Amazon rainforest. 

“On one hand, I think it is remarkable that with the United States out and campaigning against it and the fossil fuel industry clearly determined to make sure that things would not move forward … with all these movements against it, it was possible to have an agreement, and this shows that multilateralism works,” he said.

WORRIED ABOUT MISSING TEMPERATURE GOAL

Brazil’s COP30 presidency pushed through a compromise climate deal after over two weeks of negotiating that would boost finance for poor nations coping with global warming. Still, it omitted any mention of the fossil fuels driving it, which critics say showed the world was backtracking on the previous consensus that the world should phase down their use.

Several countries objected to the summit ending without stronger plans to rein in greenhouse gases or address fossil fuels.

“What worries me more is that we are at the present moment in a situation in which the scientific community is already unanimous in recognizing that we are going to go above 1.5 C,” he said, referring to the temperature threshold world governments set at a landmark 2015 climate agreement in Paris.

“This overshoot means that all these things that we are witnessing will get more frequent, more dramatic,” he said, referring to devastating storms and floods, adding that countries need to strive to cap greenhouse gas emissions now and undertake a drastic reduction over the next few years.

CHINA STEPPING UP

Guterres said the disengagement of the U.S. from climate action has left the door wide open for China, which dominates the global market for renewable energy and electric vehicles.

He said China set a low-ball climate target this year by pledging to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by only up to 10% from an unspecified peak, but he expects the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter to outperform its goal.

“An acceleration of reduction of emissions is essential in China, from the point of view of the world, because they represent 30% of (global) emissions,” he said.

He urged developed countries to step up their investments in the next generation of clean technologies beyond solar and wind, such as green hydrogen, to leapfrog China.

“Green hydrogen is probably an important bet that Western countries should be doing to gain in relation to the next market dispute,” he said.

View the live broadcast of the World Stage here and read full coverage here.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Rod Nickel)