Guterres Says Eco Activists Not 'Adversaries,' Green Economy Can Generate Millions Of Jobs

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) on Thursday, urging traditional industry workers against fearing energy transition initiatives and saying that low-carbon economy can generate millions of new jobs in the years to come

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2019) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) on Thursday, urging traditional industry workers against fearing energy transition initiatives and saying that low-carbon economy can generate millions of new jobs in the years to come.

Speaking at the COP25 event on climate action for jobs, the UN chief warned that the world was "losing the climate race," with the "current trajectory" likely to raise temperatures from 3-4 degrees Celsius (from 5.4-7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century.

"Millions of workers are on the front lines of climate impacts. Many in sectors like tourism and agriculture are losing livelihoods. Others have to withstand unbearable working conditions," he said.

According to Guterres, there is still an alternative, which is climate action.

"It sounds daunting - but we too often overlook the enormous opportunities linked to climate action. The New Climate Economy tells us that shifting to a low-carbon economy represents a $26 trillion-dollar growth opportunity that could create 65 million new jobs by 2030," he said, citing the 2018 Report of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate.

He therefore appealed to workers of traditional energy industries, saying that climate action proponents were "not adversaries," and they wanted "decent jobs in a cleaner, healthier world."

COP25 is taking place in Madrid from December 2-13. It comes in the run-up to the 2020 deadline for countries to submit their new, more ambitious, climate action plans in pursuant to the 2015 Paris deal.