The world has “entered the age of clean energy” and renewables are now the cheapest, fastest and safest source of new electricity almost everywhere, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a video message to the International Energy Agency ministerial meeting in Paris on Wednesday.
He warned that the world’s addiction to fossil fuels remains “one of the greatest threats to global stability and prosperity,” and criticised efforts by some fossil fuel interests to slow progress and spread disinformation.
“Those who lead this transition will lead the global economy of the future,” he added.
Guterres called for the creation of a dedicated global platform to coordinate an orderly, affordable and fair transition away from fossil fuels, aligned with the 1.5°C climate goal.
The platform, he said, should unite producers, consumers, financial institutions and civil society to sequence the decline of fossil fuel investments while scaling up clean energy.
“We face a choice,” the Secretary-General said. “Design the transition together – or stumble into it through crisis and chaos,” he said.
