UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an end to the world’s dependence on fossil fuels, comparing oil, gas and coal to dinosaurs while accusing powerful energy companies of deliberately obstructing efforts to tackle climate change.
Speaking at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, on Wednesday, Guterres warned world leaders that the climate crisis was moving faster than governments’ efforts to contain it.
“Fossil fuels must go the way of the dinosaurs,” he declared, before taking aim at the industry’s political influence.
“The dinosaurs did not have a lobby. Fossil fuels do.”
Guterres accused fossil fuel companies of using their influence to undermine climate science, delay government policies and avoid accountability for environmental damage.
He urged governments to impose taxes on oil companies’ windfall profits and accelerate the transition towards renewable energy.
The UN chief’s remarks came as world leaders gathered for two weeks of negotiations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing the growing financial burden of climate disasters.
However, several leaders from major polluting nations, including US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping, were absent.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham was the only G7 leader scheduled to address the summit.
The negotiations are also taking place against the backdrop of an oil price shock linked to the US-Iran conflict and continuing geopolitical tensions.
Countries agreed in 2023 to begin transitioning away from fossil fuels, but negotiations over how quickly to achieve that goal have repeatedly stalled.
Guterres, who will leave office in December, is attending his final UN climate summit as secretary-general.
The COP31 conference is scheduled to conclude on November 20, with countries facing renewed pressure to turn their climate promises into concrete action.
