U.N. chief blames leadership for failures on climate

BERLIN — The head of the United Nations says a “leadership gap” is undermining the world’s efforts to curb global warming, days before presidents and prime ministers from around the globe gather for a climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

U.N. Secretary-general Antonio Guterres told reporters Tuesday that time is running out to cut greenhouse gas emissions and meet the goals of the 2015 Paris accord to avert global warming that he said could become “an existential threat to humanity.”

“The clock is ticking,” he said in New York at the presentation of a

U.N. report highlighting the difference between what scientists say is needed and what countries are doing to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas being pumped into the atmosphere. “This is a moment of truth.”

“The emissions gap is the result of a leadership gap,” Guterres said. “But leaders can still make this a turning point to a greener future instead of a tipping point to climate catastrophe. “

The new report by the U.N. Environment Programme found fresh pledges by governments to cut emissions are raising hopes but aren’t strict enough to keep global warming from exceeding 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century.

“Every ton of carbon dioxide emissions adds to global warming,” French climate scientist Valerie Masson-delmotte, who co-chaired an August U.N. climate science report, told the United Nations on Tuesday. “The climate we experience in the future depends on our decisions now.”

Guterres said scientists were clear on the facts of climate change, adding that “now, leaders need to be just as clear in their actions.”

“They need to come to Glasgow with bold, time-bound, front-loaded plans to reach net zero,” he said.