United Nations (U.N) Chief Antonio Guterres has warned that the world is facing two interconnected crises – accelerating climate change and a global energy crisis with both rooted in a continued dependence on fossil fuels. He delivered a special address as part of London’s Climate Action Week drawing on the latest scientific evidence that points to the earth’s warming tipping point while highlighting the dramatic impacts of the conflict in the Middle East.
Guterres says the conflict unleashed what he calls the “mother of all energy shocks”.
The Secretary General was emphatic – the climate crisis is pushing the planet and its people deeper towards higher temperatures and closer to a catastrophic tipping point.
“Climate disasters are becoming more frequent, more destructive, and more costly. And the World Meteorological Organization has warned we ain’t seen nothing yet. El Niño is not just knocking on the door. It risks blowing the house down. Turning up the heat. Disrupting food and water systems. And hitting the vulnerable the hardest. 10 years ago, world leaders agreed in Paris to limit global temperature rise to 1.5degrees Celsius. Now scientists say average annual temperatures will exceed that threshold in the coming years.”
Coupled with an energy crisis brought on by the war in the Middle East, Guterres highlighted the deep fault lines that continue to exist due to a continued global fossil fuel glut while arguing that renewables were the cheapest, fastest and most scalable source of new electricity in most of the world today.
For climate, this is the best of times & the worst of times.
The worst – because climate impacts are intensifying & the energy crisis has exposed the deep risks of dependence on fossil fuels.
The best – because the renewables revolution is well underway.
We have the enormous… pic.twitter.com/jVKWM5RWMi
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) June 23, 2026
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