UN chief warns of a global calamity

World leaders have warned that the Ukraine war risks creating a new era of divisions at a time when worsening climate change and rising food prices risk unleashing a new global instability.

The UN General Assembly, the annual gathering of world leaders that clogs Midtown Manhattan, returned in person after two years of pandemic restrictions with only one leader allowed to appear virtually – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the summit by projecting images of a ship carrying grain out of Ukraine – evidence of how diplomacy can succeed – as he warned of the dire state of the planet.

“Our world is in big trouble. Divides are growing deeper,” Mr Guterres said. “A winter of global discontent is on the horizon. Trust is crumbling, inequalities are exploding, our planet is burning. People are hurting – with the most vulnerable suffering the most.”

With global temperatures rising and a chunk of Pakistan the size of the UK recently under water, Mr Guterres (pictured) lashed out at fossil fuel companies and the “suicidal war against nature”.

He called on developed economies to tax profits from fossil fuels and dedicate the funds both to compensate for damage from climate change and to help people struggling with high prices.

“Let’s tell it like it is – our world is addicted to fossil fuels. It’s time for an intervention. We need to hold fossil fuel companies and their enablers to account,” Mr Guterres said.

The summit still saw disruption due to the death of the Queen, with US President Joe Biden, by tradition the second speaker on the opening day, due to speak on Wednesday.

French President Emmanuel Macron described Russia’s invasion as “a return to a new age of imperialism and colonies” and warned that inaction risked “tearing down the global order without which peace is not possible”.