Cop31 live: I will never give up UN chief tells climate summit ahead of last address

In his final press conference here at Cop31, a rather emotional António Guterres has looked back on his near decade as UN secretary-general, which draws to a close next month. After waving away applause in an embarrassed manner, his message was that on the climate crisis he was a humble, if persistent, truth teller.

“I have tried to speak the truth about climate change,†he said. “Sometimes that truth has been uncomfortable. Sometimes it has been unwelcome. But my responsibility has never been to make the facts more convenient. It has been to tell the truth rooted in the science, and to be especially clear when the truth is hard.â€

That truth, he said, is that the climate crisis is spinning dangerously out of control and more needs to be done on all fronts by countries to contain it. In his tenure, Guterres said, the climate question has been “central to every aspect of the work of the United Nationsâ€, shaping everything from conflicts to poverty reduction.

“My message as I leave Antalya is simple: Face the facts. Follow the science. Choose the future. And never give up,†he said.

Guterres took a few questions from journalists, one of them being from our very own Fiona Harvey, who asked the outgoing UN chief if, as an outspoken advocate of climate action, he had any regrets.

“I do not consider to be outspoken, I say simply what is true,†he answered, before adding with emotion that “there is growing in public opinion and growing in civil society and growing in the commitment of several governments and institutions a conscience that we are still on a trajectory to disaster, and a conscience that what I say is not to be outspoken. It is just to tell a very simple and obvious truth.â€

“You cannot build peace on a burning planet,†the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, has warned in a final speech. The outgoing diplomat, and outspoken climate activist, celebrated the progress made in his last decade doing the job while warning of the wide gap between what science demands and politics deliver.

“You cannot build peace on a burning planet,†he said. You cannot eradicate poverty when climate disasters keep throwing people back into it. You cannot promise young people a better future while destroying the natural systems on which that future depends. And you cannot speak seriously about justice when those who did least to cause this crisis suffer first and worst.â€

Guterres backed the Turkish and Australian co-hosts push for electrification – caveating that it must be clean – and praised the Cop30 presidency's roadmaps on transitioning away from fossil fuels and on deforestation. He also called for confronting the disproportionate influence of the fossil fuel lobby.

“The future of our planet cannot be negotiated on the terms of those profiting from its destruction.â€

UN secretary-general António Guterres is now starting his final speech at a Cop in his current function, opening with the importance of facts and truth. “My responsibility has never been to make the facts more convenient.â€

A culinary-themed protest has stirred up interest at Cop with activists donning chefs hats to (using a connection that wasn't immediately apparent) call for debt cancellation for the world's most climate-vulnerable countries.

The protesters from ActionAid, some clutching wooden spoons, said they were serving up a ‘climate justice menu of the day' for delegates by demanding that debts are cancelled to help countries pay for climate resilience rather than debt repayment. More than 90% of the countries most at risk of climate-fueled disasters are in or at risk of debt distress, according to ActionAid.

“Grant based finance now!†chanted the rather incongruous chefs, who did not make any sort of puns about cooking the books or making dough. One sign, though, called debt the “secret ingredient†for climate justice.

Guterres wraps up: “We face lobbies, we face powers, that are pushing pressure on governments. Civil society must put the counterpressure so governments understand that things must change and so we win the battle against climate change.â€

The session comes to an end with chants in the room of “make the polluters payâ€.

Guterres has said the voice of civil society is more important than ever, but told those in the room that the praise he has received is not justified.

“I just did my duty. I just did what I was supposed to do. And the duty of the secretary-general is to tell the truth. The duty of the secretary-general is to fight for justice. The duty of the secretary-general is to be completely at the service of those that suffer, those that are discriminated [against], those that are victims of injustice in our world.â€

A feature of Cops is you can sometimes find yourself talking to a random observer one minute, and having a brush with a world famous figure the next.

Waiting outside one of the plenary rooms here earlier, I was talking to the president of last year's Cop, Brazilian diplomat André Corrêa do Lago, when the former US vice-president Al Gore walked by.

They spotted each other. There was a big hug between old mates and some inquiry over each other's families. All very human and normal.

As plaudits for Guterres come rushing through, the host urged her colleagues to keep their statements to a single minute. “We are very used to keeping it to one minute in this process,†she said, in a nod to the sidelining of marginalised voices that activists have long complained plagues UN climate negotiations.

Mohamed Adow, founder of Power Shift Africa, has called Guterres “the best climate spokesperson the world has had over the last ten years†– challenging hypocritical fossil fuel producers, making climate justice “central†to the climate conversation rather than an afterthought, and speaking out when others remained silent.

“That is a legacy worth protecting and one we have a responsibility to carry forward.â€

On behalf of Climate Action Network (CAN), he invited Guterres to “cross the floor†and join civil society by attending next year's Cop wearing a CAN badge.

Activists from civil society – representing Indigenous peoples, women, trade unions, young people and others – are in the plenary room celebrating the work of António Guterres, the outgoing secretary-general of the United Nations, who is attending his last Cop (at least in this role) this year. Guterres has championed climate action in often fiery speeches over the years, and highlighted the injustices faced by the most vulnerable people in society.

“You pushed me to go further, to do more, and I am grateful for that,†he told the assembled civil society representatives.

“Dear friends, even in a divided world cooperation is possible,†he added. “You prove that every day.â€

To widespread applause, he concluded with the following: “When I leave, I will keep standing with you as an advocate and ally. And I can assure that I will never, ever give up.â€