Ahead of the COP28 climate talks, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the region which is frozen-but-rapidly melting in Antarctica on 24th Nov 2023, Friday. He warned of the devastating acceleration of ice melt in the region, often referred to as a sleeping giant. What happens in Antarctica doesn’t stay in Antarctica, we absolutely need to act immediately, he added.
Mr. Guterres described COP28 which begins next week in Dubai, as an opportunity for nations to decide the phase-out of fossil fuels in an adequate time frame to prevent the world from warming 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. At the conference, nations are supposed to strengthen commitments to addressing climate change. But so far these have not been nearly enough to slow global warming.
Mr. Gutrerres is on a three day visit to Antarctica. He was also scheduled to visit the Collins and Nelson glaciers.