UN Secretary-General calls COP31 'moment of truth'

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has delivered an urgent message to world leaders, describing the COP31 UN climate talks, which begin on Monday in Türkiye, as a "moment of truth", urging immediate action and an end to endless discussions in which everybody tries to push responsibility to someone else.

The summit carries particular significance as it will mark Guterres' last global warming address as head of the United Nations before his second and final term expires at the end of the year, concluding a decade of efforts to urge countries to cut emissions and warn of the consequences of burning fossil fuels.

Guterres' warnings came during an exclusive interview with the Associated Press (AP), amid a palpable sense of urgency in a world with worsening heatwaves, floods and storms, ever higher temperatures and the effects of El Niño, a naturally occurring climate pattern that disrupts weather systems around the globe.

WAM