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The COP30 (Conference of Parties) Climate Summit 2025, the Climate Action Event introduction featuring secretary-general of the United Nations António Guterres, climate justice advocate Charitie Ropati, atmospheric scientist Katharine Hayhoe, and director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and professor in Earth System Science at the University of Potsdam, Johan Rockström. https://earthclimate.eu/2025/09/25/cop30-climate-summit-2025-intro-climate-action-event/
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00:00The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat.
00:03It is here, shaping our present and defining our future.
00:08Rising seas, extreme heat, floods, wildfires, and devastating storms disrupt lives across the globe.
00:16Families are being displaced.
00:18Farmers are losing crops.
00:20Children are growing up in a world of uncertainty.
00:24Those least responsible are often the hardest hit.
00:28But this is not just a story of crisis.
00:32It's a story of possibility.
00:34Because we are on the cusp of the clean energy era.
00:39The renewables revolution.
00:42Leaders, now is the time to seize the biggest economic opportunity of our lifetime.
00:49With national climate fans, we have the blueprints for successful economies and societies.
00:55Creating jobs, expanding investments, and building opportunities for all.
01:02Saving lives and safeguarding public health.
01:07Building energy independence and security.
01:11Connecting communities and upholding indigenous rights.
01:16Limiting increasingly dangerous and costly impacts of climate change.
01:20Protecting nature and biodiversity.
01:24Which protects us all.
01:26This is our moment of opportunity.
01:29Let's seize it.
01:36Mr. Secretary-General, excellencies, friends, colleagues, good afternoon.
01:41For those of you who don't know me, my name is Melissa Fleming.
01:44I am the UN Undersecretary General for Global Communications.
01:47And it is my honor to moderate the special event on climate.
01:52Convened by His Excellency, Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
01:58And His Excellency, Mr. Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva.
02:02President of Brazil.
02:04Who will be with us anytime now.
02:07The Secretary-General and President Lula have agreed to work together to mobilize increased action on climate ahead of COP30.
02:15Which Brazil will host in November.
02:18Against the backdrop of a worsening climate crisis.
02:23And challenging geopolitics.
02:24We are here today to discuss the steps we can collectively take to accelerate the just energy transition.
02:31To strengthen climate justice for developing countries.
02:34And to protect our natural world.
02:38We have all the solutions we need to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.
02:43What we need today is action.
02:46Excellencies, we will start with a scientific assessment of the current efforts to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
02:54And this will be presented by Professor Johan Rockström.
03:00Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
03:04And Professor Catherine Hayhoe from Texas Tech University.
03:08Professors, you have the floor.
03:16Good afternoon.
03:17Your Excellencies, co-citizens on planet Earth.
03:20It's now 10 years since the world in Paris entered the legally binding agreement to avoid dangerous climate change.
03:27Since then, science has become overwhelmingly clear.
03:30Allowing long-term global warming to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius constitutes danger.
03:37And yet, greenhouse gas emissions continue rising.
03:40And in 2024, annual global temperature change was pushed beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius for the first time on our
03:47watch.
03:48This is a deep concern.
03:51An even deeper concern is that warming appears to be accelerating, outpacing emissions.
03:58The long-term average warming is now between 1.3 and 1.5, 1.4 degrees.
04:03We are on a path to breach 1.5 degrees Celsius' multi-decadal boundary within the next 5, 10 years.
04:11A temperature we've not experienced over the past 100,000 years.
04:16Here we must admit failure.
04:19Failure to protect peoples and nations from unmanageable impacts of human-induced climate change.
04:26But we don't have to keep failing.
04:29Returning to below 1.5 degrees by the end of this century must remain the obligation for all international efforts
04:36to limit dangerous climate change.
04:38Extreme heats, fire, droughts, water scarcity, flooding, and land degradation reinforced by us are already impacting the lives of billions
04:47of people around the world.
04:49Beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius, these dangers will become increasingly unmanageable.
04:54Every tenth of a degree of avoided warming matters, saves lives and livelihoods.
05:00This is not a time for resignation.
05:03Beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius, there's also a real risk of crossing tipping points.
05:08The most recent science concludes that we're therefore dangerously close to triggering fundamental and irreversible change.
05:18If we make the right choices going forward, though, there is still an overshoot pathway that can bring temperatures back
05:25below 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century.
05:28Such a narrow escape remains possible, but it requires deep and rapid reduction of all greenhouse gases involving a near
05:39-complete transition starting now away from fossil fuels.
05:44We also know that cutting emissions won't be enough.
05:47We need to massively scale up carbon dioxide removal.
05:50For every 0.1 degrees Celsius of planetary cooling, 200 billion tons are needed to be removed from the atmosphere.
05:59But even if this succeeds, we fail, unless we safeguard the world's most powerful carbon sink and planetary cooling system,
06:08a healthy planet.
06:10If we don't return to the safe operating space of the nine planetary boundaries that regulates Earth's stability, including biodiversity,
06:18pollutants, land, nutrients, and the ocean,
06:20a safe climate future, a safe climate future is out of reach, irrespective of our mitigation efforts.
06:27Don't be fooled.
06:29We are currently following a path that will take us to 3 degrees Celsius in just 75 years, shorter than
06:36the existence of this very institution.
06:39An existential threat we have not experienced in the last 3 million years.
06:44And there's no guarantee that efforts to cool the planet will succeed.
06:48So my message today, science is clear.
06:52We have a planetary crisis on our watch.
06:55And we do have scalable solutions for phasing out fossil fuels, efficient resource use, and transformation to healthy and sustainable
07:03food.
07:04Pathways that makes us all winners.
07:06The window to a manageable climate future is still open, but just.
07:12Failure is not inevitable.
07:14It is a choice.
07:18And with that, I pass on to my...
07:24And with that, I pass on to my dear colleague, Professor Catherine Hayhoe.
07:31As Dr. Rockstrom indicated, we are conducting an unprecedented and perilous experiment with Earth, our only home.
07:40The science is clear.
07:42Right now, according to natural factors, the planet should be getting slowly cooler.
07:47Instead, it is warming faster and faster.
07:50And we are responsible for all of that warming.
07:55The science is also clear that every additional bit of warming matters.
08:01For every tenth of a degree, we can put a number on how much worse it gets.
08:07Billions of dollars in flood, wildfire, and storm damage.
08:11Millions of avoidable deaths from extreme heat, air pollution, and more.
08:17Now, steady increases in heat waves and crop losses are bad enough.
08:23But the further we go past 1.5 degrees C, the greater the risk of the dangerous tipping points Dr.
08:31Rockstrom warned us about.
08:33So the obvious question is, if the science is this clear, and it is, and it has been for decades,
08:41then why haven't we fixed this already?
08:44Despite decades of deliberate disinformation that continues to be amplified today, the majority of people know the four basics.
08:56Most people know climate change is real.
09:00It is human-caused.
09:02It is serious.
09:04And the experts agree.
09:06These four things make us worried.
09:10And yet, even though the majority of people in almost every country around the world, including this one, are already
09:17worried about climate change, awareness does not necessarily lead to action.
09:24Too often, we think if we just explain the facts more clearly, that will be enough.
09:30But it isn't, because if we don't know what to do, we'll do nothing.
09:36To act, we need to know two more things.
09:38We need to know that we are not alone.
09:43Others care.
09:44And we need to know that there is hope.
09:47Hope is not wishful thinking.
09:50Hope is knowing that if we act, it will make a difference.
09:54And that is exactly what the science says.
09:58Every action matters.
10:00When it comes to climate solutions, there's no one action that will fix it all.
10:05But there are so many that together give us more than enough to meet our climate goals.
10:11Transitioning from the dirty fossil fuels of the past to the clean energy of the future.
10:17Protecting and restoring ecosystems that absorb carbon and shelter us from flood and heat.
10:22Transforming food systems to reduce waste and emissions.
10:27Investing in resilience so the most vulnerable communities benefit most.
10:33We cannot prevent this catastrophe alone.
10:37But together we can, by setting stronger targets, by moving faster timelines, and by making deeper commitments.
10:46Why?
10:47Because the science tells us that every bit of warming matters.
10:50Every year matters.
10:51Every choice matters.
10:52Not to the planet.
10:54The planet will endure.
10:56It matters to us.
10:59When I had a child, I made the biggest wager anyone can place on the future.
11:05And you may have done that too.
11:07The scariest part is that the outcome of that bet doesn't depend on me alone.
11:12It depends on all of us.
11:13On our willingness to choose courage over fear.
11:18Action over delay.
11:20And most of all, hope over despair.
11:23I believe it's a bet we can still win.
11:26And that's why every day I practice hope.
11:29Not as a feeling, but as a discipline.
11:32One that's essential to the fight ahead.
11:34I won't give up on a better future.
11:36And I hope you won't either.
11:38Because what's at stake is nothing less than everything and everyone we love.
11:54Thank you, Professor Rockstrom and Professor Hayhoe.
11:58And every day we will all practice hope as well.
12:01It's now my honor to invite the Secretary General to the podium to deliver his remarks.
12:20Excellencies, dear friends, as we have just heard, it is still possible to limit global temperature
12:29rise to 1.5 degrees by century's end.
12:34We know what permanently breaching that limit would mean for people and planet.
12:40The science compels climate action, so does the economics.
12:48Clean energy is powering jobs, growth and sustainable development.
12:53Generating the fastest and cheapest electricity.
12:58Insulating economies from volatile fossil fuel markets.
13:03Providing energy security and sovereignty.
13:06And helping to deliver clean and affordable energy for all.
13:12Despite vast fossil fuel subsidies distorting markets.
13:17Clean energy received double the investment of fossil fuels last year.
13:24The bottom line.
13:26Clean is competitive.
13:28And climate action is imperative.
13:32Excellencies.
13:33The Paris Agreement has made a difference.
13:37In the last 10 years, projected global temperature rise has dropped from 4 degrees Celsius to less than 3 if
13:46current NDCs are fully implemented.
13:51Now, we need new plans for 2035 that go much further and much faster.
13:58Delivering dramatic emissions cuts aligned with 1.5 degrees.
14:04Covering all emissions and sectors.
14:08And accelerating a just energy transition globally.
14:13Your new plans can take us a significant step forward.
14:19A UN report will calculate their impact for global emissions.
14:24If they fall short, we must create the conditions for a decade of acceleration.
14:32We know it can be done.
14:35China met its 2030 wind and solar targets six years ahead of schedule.
14:41India reached 50% electricity capacity from non-fossil fuels five years early.
14:49We are in the dawn of a new energy era.
14:54We must seize this moment of opportunity.
14:58COP30 in Brazil must conclude with a credible global response plan to get us on track.
15:06Five areas are crucial.
15:09First, energy.
15:10Fossil fuels still dominate.
15:12We must supercharge the clean energy transition, investing in grids and storage to unlock the full potential of renewables,
15:22lowering capital costs for developing countries, and redirecting fossil fuel subsidies to a just transition.
15:31Second, methane.
15:34A potent global heating gas.
15:37Drastic cuts this decade are essential, and most can be achieved quickly and cheaply.
15:45The International Energy Agency estimates fossil fuel operations could cut 40% of methane emissions today with no net costs.
15:56Third, forests.
15:58We must end the destruction of nature's greatest carbon sinks.
16:03This could deliver a fifth of needed emissions reductions by 2030.
16:09Fourth, heavy industry.
16:12We have seen important advances in technologies to cut emissions from steel and cement and heavy transport.
16:19They must be deployed urgently.
16:22They must be deployed urgently.
16:25Fifth, climate justice.
16:28Developing countries that did least to cause the crisis are suffering the most.
16:37Climate disasters are inflicting damages that exceed the GDP of some small islands.
16:44Droughts and floods are taking lives, fueling anger and inflaming conflicts.
16:51All while finance gaps prevent investments in adaptation and resilience.
16:58We need urgent action to unlock funds for developing countries to seize clean energy benefits and protect lives and economies.
17:09And that requires reforming the international financial architecture to strengthen developing countries' participation.
17:16We need effective debt relief and scaled-up solutions like debt swaps and disaster pause clauses.
17:26We need a major increase in the lending capacity of multilateral development banks and significant contributions to the loss and
17:34damage fund, including from innovative sources.
17:38And a major boost in adaptation finance, with developing countries meeting their pledge to double funding this year.
17:48COP30 must show a credible pass to mobilizing the 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars annually in climate finance by
17:562035, as agreed at COP29 in Baku.
18:01Identifying sources, existing and new, outlining policies, instruments and actions to make finance accessible, affordable and at scale.
18:15And establishing credible accountability measures to verify progress.
18:21Excellencies, the science demands action, the law commands it, the economics compel it, and people are calling for it.
18:34I look forward to hearing how you will respond and the U.N. stands ready to help you to deliver.
18:42Thank you very much.
18:43Thank you very much.