Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, has committed to making 2023 “a year for peace” and “a year for action,” emphasizing the urgent need for finding practical solutions to various pressing challenges that regions globally are presently encountering.
During the year-end press conference at the UN headquarters, Guterres made this vow.
The UN “has a responsibility to the populace to discover solutions, to resist, and to take action,” he stated.
Building upon his general appeal for action, Guterres announced that he would organize the Climate Ambition Summit in September 2023 and encouraged all state and government leaders to “step up” in response.
It would be “a summit without pretense,” he remarked. No exceptions, no concessions. There will be no tolerance for backsliders, greenwashers, blame-shifters, or repackaged announcements from previous years.
This summit will coincide with a General Assembly opening-week gathering that is already planned, aimed at accelerating advancements toward the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Even though there may be “numerous reasons for despair,” allowing impoverished nations to remain on “debt row” amid the Ukraine War and the accompanying cost-of-living crisis is not acceptable.
“This is not a time to remain passive; it is a moment for resolve, determination, and – indeed – even hope.
“Because, despite the limitations and daunting odds, we are striving to combat despair, to resist disillusionment, and to identify real solutions.
“Not flawless solutions—not always appealing solutions—but pragmatic solutions that are making a significant impact on people’s lives.
“Solutions that must guide us toward a better and more peaceful future.”
Guterres underscored the agreement just hours earlier to cease the devastation of ecosystems globally, at the UN’s Biodiversity Conference, COP15.
“We are finally beginning to forge a peace accord with nature,” he asserted, urging all nations to honor their commitments.
He cited the cease-fire in northern Ethiopia as another “reason for hope” and a sign of “a renewal of diplomacy,” demonstrating that progress has been achieved in concluding the conflict in several of the world’s war-torn regions.
Advancements have been noted in Yemen, where a truce has “provided real benefits for the populace,” as well as in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where armed factions have intensified their assaults on governmental forces and necessitated UN peacekeeping intervention.
Despite the biodiversity accord and commitments made at COP27 in Egypt, it is evident that the effort to limit global warming to just a 1.5-degree increase above pre-industrial levels is still “heading in the wrong direction,” and the emissions gap is expanding.
“The 1.5-degree objective is struggling for survival. National climate plans are significantly inadequate. Yet, we are not retreating. We are resisting,” added the UN leader.
He mentioned that the global community was now “pushing back to restore trust between the North and South” by reaching an agreement at COP27 on the long-dormant issue of Loss and Damage.
Another constructive step was taken in 2022 with the introduction of an action plan to provide every individual in the world with early warning systems within the next five years.
“Moving forward, I will continue to advocate for a Climate Solidarity Pact, wherein all major emitters exert additional efforts to decrease emissions this decade in line with the 1.5-degree objective and ensure support for those in need.
Without this, he cautioned, “the 1.5-degree goal will quickly vanish. I have been straightforward about the necessity for all of us to confront this existential threat. And I will not yield.”
