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United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the world is confronting twin climate and energy crises driven by fossil fuel dependence, calling for a rapid transition to clean energy, stronger adaptation measures and significantly higher climate finance.
Addressing London Climate Action Week, Guterres on June 23 said the climate crisis is accelerating while the conflict in West Asia has unleashed a major energy shock, exposing the risks of dependence on hydrocarbons.
“Crisis brings clarity,” Guterres said. “Our world is facing a tale of two crises. A climate crisis pushing us deeper toward higher temperatures and closer to catastrophic tipping points. And an energy crisis exposing the folly of a world hooked on hydrocarbons.”
The UN chief said the world has experienced its 11 hottest years on record and warned that average annual temperatures are likely to exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold agreed under the Paris Agreement in the coming years.
Citing a new report by the United Nations Scientific Advisory Board, Guterres warned that crossing critical climate tipping points could push coral reef systems towards collapse, accelerate the loss of ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica, weaken major ocean circulation systems and shift parts of the Amazon rainforest towards savanna-like conditions.
At the same time, he said the West Asia conflict has triggered what he described as the “mother of all energy shocks”.
“The International Energy Agency tells us its scale rivals the oil upheavals of the 1970s and the turmoil followed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine combined,” Guterres said.
He added that the crisis has demonstrated the vulnerability of a development model dependent on fossil fuels, where a single conflict or chokepoint can disrupt global energy supplies and send prices soaring.
Guterres said the solution lies in accelerating the transition to clean energy. According to the UN chief, solar costs have fallen by almost 90 per cent since 2010, while onshore wind costs have declined by more than 70 per cent and battery storage costs by 95 per cent.
More than 90 per cent of new renewable power added globally is already cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil fuel alternatives, he said.
Citing the International Renewable Energy Agency, Guterres said existing renewable energy capacity saved the global economy $480 billion in avoided fossil fuel costs in 2025 alone.
He added that renewables prevented more annual carbon dioxide emissions than those produced by the United States, the European Union and Japan combined.
“Renewables are the cornerstone of true energy security,” Guterres said. “Energy independence cannot be built on fossil fuel dependence.”
As part of the response, Guterres launched a global Call to Action on Methane, targeting emissions from waste, agriculture and fossil fuel operations. Methane is responsible for around one third of global warming and is about 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, although it remains in the atmosphere for a much shorter period.
“The fossil fuel industry must step up and do what is long overdue,” he said. According to the International Energy Agency, around 70 per cent of oil and gas methane emissions can be eliminated using existing technologies, much of it at low or no net cost.
Guterres noted that 167 billion cubic metres of gas were flared globally in 2025, equivalent to Africa’s annual gas consumption. The United Nations Environment Programme’s Methane Alert and Response System has issued more than 5,000 alerts across 33 countries, but the global response rate remains only around 12 per cent. The UN chief called on governments to establish a new global standard of near-zero methane emissions across the oil and gas value chain.
Guterres criticised continued expansion of fossil fuel production and called for taxation of windfall profits earned by oil and gas companies during the energy crisis.
According to him, the world’s eight largest fossil fuel companies earned an additional $6.5 billion in the first quarter of 2026, driven partly by higher oil prices during the Middle East conflict.
“These are windfall gains born of pain, instability, hardship and dependence,” he said, urging governments to use such revenues to support vulnerable households and accelerate deployment of clean energy.
The UN chief also identified inadequate transmission infrastructure, outdated distribution systems, insufficient storage and slow permitting processes as major barriers to renewable energy deployment.
“The age of electrification will require a massive expansion of grids, storage and system flexibility,” he said.
Guterres also proposed an AI Environmental Transparency Initiative, calling on major artificial intelligence companies to disclose the carbon, water and land footprints of their operations and power all data centres with renewable energy by 2030.
He warned that by 2030, data centres could consume more electricity than all but five countries and use enough water annually to meet the basic needs of the 1.3 billion people living in sub-Saharan Africa.
Guterres said climate action will require finance at a scale that developing countries currently cannot access. Many developing nations face borrowing costs for clean energy and resilience projects that are two to three times higher than those in advanced economies.
Despite possessing 60 per cent of the world’s best solar resources and 30 per cent of critical minerals, Africa receives only 2 per cent of global clean energy investment, while more than 600 million people on the continent still lack access to electricity.
The UN chief urged developed countries to deliver the $300 billion pledged to developing nations and take concrete steps to mobilise $1.3 trillion annually by 2035. He also called for expanded lending by Multilateral Development Banks, noting that recent reforms have increased their lending capacity by $600 billion to $800 billion.
Additional measures should include guarantees, local currency financing, blended finance, debt-for-climate swaps, carbon market revenues and solidarity levies on high-emitting sectors, he said.
Guterres announced that he will convene world leaders in September ahead of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) in Türkiye to advance discussions on a just energy transition.
The meeting will focus on managing fossil fuel phase-down, supporting workers and communities, protecting producer economies and mobilising investment for clean energy.
“The transition itself is no longer in question,” Guterres said. “It will be either managed or chaotic, fair or unequal, a source of stability or of greater division.”
Concluding his address, the UN chief said the climate and energy crises have exposed the risks of fossil fuel dependence but also highlighted the opportunities created by rapidly expanding renewable energy.
“We can finally turn the page on fossil fuels and write a future powered by renewables and rooted in climate justice,” he said.