UN leader warns against climate ‘collective suicide’ as heat wave grips Europe

A firefighter works to contain a tactical fire in Louchats, as wildfires continue to spread in the Gironde region of southwestern France, July 17, 2022. 

The leaders from 40 nations gathered in Berlin to discuss climate change response measures were warned by the United Nations Secretary-General.

Half of the world is in danger from disasters. There is no immunity for any nation. In a video message to the assembled leaders on Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that we still feed our fossil fuel addiction.

In facing the global crisis, we are failing to work together as a team. The blame game is being played by nations instead of taking responsibility. We can't continue like this.

We have to make a decision. It's either collective action or collective suicide. We have control of it.

Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, speaks to reporters after a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for climate change discussions during the 76th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, at United Nations headquarters in New York, September 20, 2021.

A multipronged approach for responding to climate change was laid out by the leader of the UN. Reducing emissions by eliminating coal and moving to emissions-free energy sources is what countries need to do. It has to be more focused on adapting to the risks.

Developing nations need access to the financing they need to fight climate change if rich nations are to make good on their commitments. Extreme weather events are more likely to kill people in Africa, South Asia and Central and South America. The injustice cannot continue.

There needs to be a system in place to respond to climate loss and damage that affects the most vulnerable.

A firefighter creates a tactical fire in Louchats, as wildfires continue to spread in the Gironde region of southwestern France, July 17, 2022. This image produced by NASA shows surface air temperatures on July 13, 2022, showing widespread heatwaves.

This large area of extreme (and record-breaking) heat is another clear indicator that emissions of greenhouse gases by human activity are causing.

The fires that are occurring now in Europe and Africa, and which have been rampant over the past few years in North America, are related to the extreme heat.