London is “cooking”, the United Nations chief has warned, as he argued that countries cannot double down on fossil fuels in the face of devastating climate change.
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres referenced Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale Of Two Cities in a major address at London Climate Action Week as the capital swelters in a severe heatwave.
Speaking at the event on Tuesday, Mr Guterres said: “Crisis brings clarity and here in London – the city of Dickens – it is clear that our world is facing a ‘tale of two crises’.
“A climate crisis is pushing us deeper towards higher temperatures and closer to catastrophic tipping points and an energy crisis exposing the folly of a world hooked on hydrocarbons.
“On the surface, these crises may seem separate, but they share the same destructive origin: fossil fuels.”
Storms cause floods and travel disruption across London as heatwave builds
His address coincides with an unprecedented heatwave hitting the UK this week, which has sparked fears over the impact of extreme heat on health, schools, workplaces and transport.
Temperatures are expected to smash the June record set in 1976 by several degrees as human-driven climate change intensifies the impact of a “heat-dome” settling over western Europe.
“London isn’t just calling. It’s cooking,” the UN chief said.
He warned that climate chaos is “accelerating before our eyes” while the arrival of the El Nino warming weather phenomenon this summer risks “blowing the house down” as it compounds the escalating impacts.
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