“Like the dinosaurs, fossil fuels must disappear”: at COP31, the head of the UN targets the hydrocarbon lobby

On Wednesday, November 11, the UN chief urged officials gathered to talk about climate at COP31, to eliminate fossil fuels and to go beyond their differences to cooperate on the best ways to fight global warming, in a room where many heads of state were missing. “The brutal truth is that the climate crisis is bigger than us,” Guterres said before tackling the main cause of climate change.

“In the last quarter alone, the nine largest oil companies raked in 95 billion dollars (85.3 billion euros, editor’s note) in profits. It’s time for governments to tax these profits and use these resources to help vulnerable countries recover.”

COP31 brings together representatives from nearly 200 states

Heads of state and government are meeting Wednesday and Thursday for the annual United Nations climate conference at the end of a year when climate change has once again hit the planet hard, between deadly floods in Nepal and heat waves in Europe.

Just elected for a new term at the head of Brazil, Brazilian President Lula must speak, just like British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, sole representative of the G7 countries, or Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, alongside Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish head of state.

But it is especially those who are absent who are generating the most comments from observers and NGOs, ahead of this unmissable climate conference event.

“It’s a shame that some of the main European leaders are not present,” commented Cosima Cassel, diplomacy expert for the E3G think tank, given the notable absence of the main German, French and Italian leaders.

“I fear that Ursula von der Leyen (the president of the European Commission, Editor’s note) will find herself alone on stage,” reacted Chiara Martinelli, Europe director of the Climate Action Network, which brings together many environmental NGOs.

Commemorations of the First World War armistice and a summit of heads of state and government in Ireland on Thursday, attended by other European leaders, explain the absence of French President Emmanuel Macron, his government said.

“It is not uncommon for some leaders to go there and others not,” said European Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra in Brussels on Tuesday, stressing that “expectations are not necessarily high” at this COP31, at a time when the energy crisis is relegating environmental issues to the background.

Also absent: President Donald Trump, who withdrew the United States from the 2015 Paris agreement and has not sent a delegation since his re-election. China will be represented by Vice President Han Zheng.

Machine-translated from French