'Essential to act now' to prevent chaotic climate breakdown, warns UN chief

On the eve of Cop29 in Baku, António Guterres says dangers are underestimated as irreversible tipping points near

UN secretary general António Guterres has said that the Greenland ice sheet may melt if we reach tipping points that accelerate climate change. File photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

The world is still underestimating the risk of catastrophic climate breakdown and ecosystem collapse, the UN secretary general has warned in the run-up to Cop29, acknowledging that the rise in global heating is on course to soar past 1.5C (2.7F) over pre-industrial levels in the coming years.

Humanity is approaching potentially irreversible tipping points such as the collapse of the Amazon rainforest and the Greenland ice sheet as global temperatures rise, António Guterres has said, warning that governments are not making the deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions needed to limit warming to safe levels.