UN Secretary General António Guterres on Wednesday said the world is playing "Russian roulette" with the future of the planet after new studies showed the global average temperature reached a record high in May for the twelfth consecutive month.
"We need an exit ramp from the highway to climate hell," Guterres said in a major speech in New York to mark World Environment Day.
He blasted the global fossil fuel industry, which he labelled "godfathers of climate chaos" who "rake in record profits and feast off trillions in taxpayer-funded subsidies."
Guterres called on financial institutions and PR companies to boycott oil and gas companies blocking progress on climate action. "Billions of dollars have been thrown at distorting the truth, deceiving the public, and sowing doubt," he said.
Guterres further urged governments to impose windfall taxes on fossil fuel industry profits, invest in green energy, and impose "levies on sectors such as shipping, aviation, and fossil fuel extraction."
The world's most advanced economies in the Group of 20 (G20) should carry their fair share of the burden in tackling global warming, Guterres said. The countries should "show climate solidarity by providing technological and financial support to emerging G20 economies and other developing countries," he added.
Climate experts from across the world are currently gathering in the German city of Bonn for the UN's annual June climate meetings ahead of the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) talks in Azerbaijan later this year.