UN chief calls clean energy unstoppable, launches grid investment push

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a climate summit in New York on Wednesday that clean energy has become an unstoppable force, as the global climate crisis intensifies and the effects of a super El Niño continue to worsen.

Speaking at the UN Climate Summit at the organisation's headquarters, Guterres pressed countries to speed up the shift away from fossil fuels. He called for faster expansion of renewable power, improvements in energy efficiency, cuts to methane emissions and a gradual phase-out of fossil fuels.

"We are the first generation with the tools to end the fossil fuel age, and the last who can avert climate catastrophe," he said, urging governments to prepare credible roadmaps with clear timelines for moving away from fossil fuels.

Guterres noted that in most parts of the world, renewable energy is now the cheapest option, the quickest to deploy and the most secure and reliable source of electricity. What was once seen as an alternative has become a force that cannot be held back, he said.

On the same day, the UN chief launched the Global Grids Accelerator, an initiative aimed at speeding up investment in electricity infrastructure across Africa and Southeast Asia. The programme is intended to help turn national and regional priorities into projects that can attract financing and be put into operation.