'You cannot build peace on a burning planet': Outgoing UN Chief Antonio Guterres calls for urgent climate action in final COP31 address

António Guterres, in his final press conference at COP31, reflected emotionally on his nearly decade-long tenure as United Nations secretary-general, which is set to conclude next month. After modestly waving away applause, Guterres described himself as a humble but persistent truth teller on the climate crisis. “I have tried to speak the truth about climate change,” he said. “Sometimes that truth has been uncomfortable. Sometimes it has been unwelcome. But my responsibility has never been to make the facts more convenient. It has been to tell the truth rooted in the science, and to be especially clear when the truth is hard.”

Guterres said the reality is that the climate crisis is spinning dangerously out of control, requiring countries to intensify their efforts on every front to contain it. He noted that during his tenure, climate change had become “central to every aspect of the work of the United Nations”, influencing everything from conflicts to poverty reduction. “My message as I leave Antalya is simple: Face the facts. Follow the science. Choose the future. And never give up,” he said.

During the press conference, Guterres also answered questions from journalists, including one from Fiona Harvey, who asked whether he had any regrets about being an outspoken advocate for climate action. “I do not consider to be outspoken, I say simply what is true,” he answered. He then spoke emotionally about the growing awareness among the public, civil society, governments and institutions of the dangers posed by the climate crisis. “There is growing in public opinion and growing in civil society and growing in the commitment of several governments and institutions a conscience that we are still on a trajectory to disaster, and a conscience that what I say is not to be outspoken. It is just to tell a very simple and obvious truth.”

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In his final speech, Guterres issued another stark warning, saying, “You cannot build peace on a burning planet.”

The outgoing UN chief highlighted the progress made during his time in office while pointing to the significant gap between what climate science demands and what political leaders are delivering. “You cannot build peace on a burning planet,” he said. You cannot eradicate poverty when climate disasters keep throwing people back into it. You cannot promise young people a better future while destroying the natural systems on which that future depends. And you cannot speak seriously about justice when those who did least to cause this crisis suffer first and worst.”

Guterres also backed the Turkish and Australian co-hosts' push for electrification, stressing that it must be clean. He praised the COP30 presidency's roadmaps for transitioning away from fossil fuels and tackling deforestation. He further called for action to address the disproportionate influence of the fossil fuel lobby in climate discussions. “The future of our planet cannot be negotiated on the terms of those profiting from its destruction.”