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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a global call to action during his visit to Tonga on August 27, 2024, urging immediate steps to address the accelerating crisis of rising sea levels. The secretary-general’s press conference at the Pacific Islands Forum highlighted the unprecedented rate at which global sea levels are rising, posing an existential threat to coastal communities worldwide, particularly low-lying island nations like Tonga.
At the opening ceremony of the forum held a day before, the UN chief urged Pacific Island nations to use their pioneering climate initiatives to inspire global action.
At the conference, Guterres emphasised that the Pacific region is experiencing the most severe impacts of sea level rise, with relative sea levels rising at a rate more than double the global average in some areas. This is due to a combination of factors, including the expansion of seawater as it warms and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets. The consequences are devastating, with increased frequency and intensity of storm surges, coastal flooding, and saltwater intrusion.
The Secretary-General called for a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This ambitious goal is essential to prevent irreversible damage to the planet's climate system, including the collapse of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, which would lead to catastrophic sea level rise.
Guterres urged global leaders to take immediate action, including phasing out fossil fuels, investing in renewable energy, and adapting to the impacts of climate change. He also emphasised the need for increased financial support for vulnerable countries, particularly those in the Pacific region, to help them cope with the consequences of rising sea levels.
The UN chief stated that he was extremely concerned over emissions from group of 20 (G20) and other developed countries, particularly as they continue to expand oil and gas production. G20 countries account for 80 per cent of global emissions, and it's clear that without significant cuts from all of them, staying within the 1.5-degree limit will be impossible. “We might risk even to go over the two degrees, which will be absolutely devastating,” Guterres stated.
“We absolutely need all G20 countries to come together, to use the best technologies available within the G20 to use the financial resources that exist within the G20 and in multilateral development institutions, and to have a concerted global action to have a drastic reduction of emissions in until 2030; if that does not happen, we will be in an irreversible situation with absolutely devastating consequences,” he added.