United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters, April 18, 2024.
The service cited an average surface air temperature of 15.9 degrees Celsius last month—1.52 degrees Celsius higher than the estimated May average before industrial times. “What is clear is that the Paris agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius is hanging on a thread. It’s not yet dead, but it’s hanging by a thread,” she added.
“While some individuals may escape direct consequences, we will all be affected,” said Waleed Abdalati, who heads an environmental sciences institute at the University of Colorado Boulder. Guterres said global emissions of carbon dioxide must fall 9 percent each year to 2030 for the 1.5-degree Celsius target under the Paris climate accords to be kept alive.
He appealed to “global finance,” alluding to banks and international financial institutions, to help contribute, saying “innovative sources of funds” are needed.