{"id":412896,"date":"2026-04-23T04:31:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T04:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/412896\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T04:31:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T04:31:50","slug":"guterres-urges-countries-to-unleash-the-renewables-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/412896\/","title":{"rendered":"Guterres urges countries to \u2018unleash the renewables revolution\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe conflict in the Middle East has triggered the most severe energy crisis in a generation,\u201d he said in\u00a0a video message<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0Petersberg\u00a0Climate Dialogue in Berlin\u00a0on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it makes one fact crystal clear: fossil fuels are not just wrecking our planet \u2013 they are holding economies hostage.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rise in investment\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Secretary-General\u00a0made the case for renewable energy investment, which reached\u00a0$2.2 trillion last year\u00a0or\u00a0double\u00a0the amount invested in fossil fuels.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He stressed that \u201chomegrown renewables are the cheapest, fastest and most reliable source of new power,\u201d laying the path to real and lasting energy security.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, this\u00a0requires action on three fronts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A fair transition\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst,\u00a0we must respond to the energy crisis without deepening the climate crisis,\u201d he said, recalling that the world has just experienced the hottest 11 years on record \u201cand every major climate indicator is burning red.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

His second point called for\u00a0building the necessary infrastructure\u00a0\u201cto carry clean power to every home\u201d by expanding energy grids,\u00a0storage\u00a0and modern power systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally,\u00a0the international community must\u00a0mobilise finance, particularly for developing countries because \u201cwithout support, the transition will be slower, less fair, and less secure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Keep your promises\u00a0<\/p>\n

He noted that for developing countries,\u00a0clean energy finance costs are two to three times higher than in richer economies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYet many developed countries are backing away from climate and development finance commitments,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The UN chief called for climate justice. He urged countries to uphold climate finance promises, replenish multilateral climate funds, and mobilise $1.3 billion annually by 2035 to support developing countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Make the right choice\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

The international community also must\u00a0significantly scale\u00a0up adaptation finance\u00a0\u201cas\u00a0a matter of survival,\u201d he continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although\u00a0communities on the frontlines\u00a0of the climate crisis\u00a0did\u00a0the\u00a0least to create\u00a0it, they are paying the highest price.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAdaptation saves lives, protects livelihoods, and strengthens economies,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd every dollar invested today saves many times more in avoided losses tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Secretary-General issued a challenge to the international community, saying \u201cwe can repeat the failures of the past \u2013 or we can unleash the renewables revolution.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He urged leaders to \u201cmake the right choice\u201d for climate stability, energy\u00a0security\u00a0and a liveable future for all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Climate talks\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Petersberg\u00a0Climate Dialogue\u00a0is\u00a0an international conference\u00a0convened\u00a0each year by\u00a0Germany to advance negotiations ahead of the annual UN COP climate change conferences.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ministers and high-level envoys from\u00a0some\u00a040 countries<\/a>\u00a0are attending the current\u00a0talks\u00a0which run from 20-21 April.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDiscussions are expected to centre on three main priorities: implementation of the Paris Agreement<\/a>, international climate\u00a0finance\u00a0and geopolitical resilience,\u201d\u00a0according to<\/a>\u00a0the UN climate secretariat, UNFCCC<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The next UN climate conference, COP31, is scheduled to be held in Antalya, T\u00fcrkiye,\u00a0this\u00a0November<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

UNFCCC supports the\u00a0Petersberg\u00a0Climate Dialogue as part of the broader multilateral climate process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The informal format \u201callows parties to explore solutions to complex and sensitive issues outside formal negotiating settings,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, \u201cthese exchanges can help identify areas of convergence ahead of\u00a0the intersessional climate negotiations in Bonn in June<\/a>\u00a0and contribute to preparations for decisions at COP31.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe conflict in the Middle East has triggered the most severe energy crisis in a generation,\u201d he said…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412897,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[246,61,60,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-412896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}