UN Secretary-General António Guterres did not hold back at the Belem climate summit, accusing world powers of “moral failure” and “deadly negligence” in their response to global warming. His speech cast a pall over the talks, highlighting the gap between political will and scientific necessity.
Guterres specifically warned against breaching the 1.5-degree Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) warming limit set in the 2015 Paris Agreement. He argued that “every fraction of a degree higher” will result in more “hunger, displacement and loss,” and blamed “fossil fuel interests” for the inaction.
His harsh words were directed at a divided room. The leaders of the top three global polluters—the US, China, and India—were absent from the preliminary gathering, a clear sign of the political fractures hampering a unified response.
In contrast to this division, Brazil’s President Lula da Silva offered a concrete proposal. His “Tropical Forests Forever Facility” is a new fund to pay 74 nations to preserve their rainforests.
This $5.5 billion fund, backed by a $3 billion pledge from Norway, uses a novel loan-based system to make conservation profitable. It also ensures 20 percent of funds go to Indigenous tribes, aiming to build a new model for a planet in crisis.
