A flooded village in the low-lying island nation of Kiribati. The UN secretary general says Indigenous communities must be better represented at Cop climate summits. Photograph: Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket/Getty Images
Exclusive: ‘Devastating consequences’ now inevitable but emissions cuts still vital, says António Guterres in sole interview before Cop30
Humanity has failed to limit global heating to 1.5C and must change course immediately, the secretary general of the UN has warned.
In his only interview before next month’s Cop30 climate summit, António Guterres acknowledged it is now “inevitable” that humanity will overshoot the target in the Paris climate agreement, with “devastating consequences” for the world.
He urged the leaders who will gather in the Brazilian rainforest city of Belém to realise that the longer they delay cutting emissions, the greater the danger of passing catastrophic “tipping points” in the Amazon, the Arctic and the oceans.
“Let’s recognise our failure,” he told the Guardian and Amazon-based news organisation Sumaúma. “The truth is that we have failed to avoid an overshooting above 1.5C in the next few years. And that going above 1.5C has devastating consequences. Some of these devastating consequences are tipping points, be it in the Amazon, be it in Greenland, or western Antarctica or the coral reefs.
A wildfire in an area of Brasília national park in 2024. Heads of government will meet in Brazil next week to discuss the climate crisis before the Cop30 summit in November. Photograph: Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
Recent plans submitted to UN by more than 60 countries would cut carbon by only 10%, a sixth of what is needed
Recently drafted climate plans from scores of countries fall drastically short of what is needed to stave off the worst effects of climate breakdown, analysis has shown.
More than 60 countries have so far submitted national plans on greenhouse gas emissions to the UN, setting out how they will curb carbon for the next decade.
Taken together, these plans would cut carbon by only about 10% by 2035 compared with 2019 levels. This is only about a sixth of the drop in global emissions needed to limit global heating to 1.5C.
Simon Stiell, the UN’s top climate official, said: “Countries are making progress and laying out clear stepping stones towards net zero emissions. We also know that change is not linear, and some countries have a history of overdelivering.”
But progress was not happening fast enough, he added. “We have a serious need for more speed and for helping countries take stronger climate actions. That acceleration must start now.”
The UN published its assessment of national plans – known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the 2015 Paris climate agreement – on Tuesday, but those of several significant countries were missing. China and the EU have yet to detail their NDCs, though they have made announcements indicating their emissions-cutting targets.
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Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem [hamas.ps]
The Palestinian group Hamas said Thursday that it is entering a national dialogue with all Palestinian factions, Anadolu agency reported.
The announcement coincided with a meeting in Cairo between delegations from Hamas and Fatah, under Egyptian mediation, to discuss the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and the future of the enclave.
In an interview with Anadolu, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the movement is “heading into national dialogue with open hearts and extended hands to the Palestinian Authority and other national forces,” stressing that the authority “is one of the Palestinian institutions that cannot be bypassed.”
Qassem urged that the authorities “align with the prevailing national consensus in Gaza and come to the dialogue with an open mind,” recognizing that “this is a time for national unity and prioritising the national interest over narrow partisan interests.”
He warned that “the current period is dangerous not only for Hamas but for the entire Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank.”
The Hamas spokesperson reaffirmed the movement’s full commitment to implementing the Gaza ceasefire agreement “in all its details,” urging mediators to pressure Israel to ensure compliance.
He said Hamas has been holding “around-the-clock discussions to complete the agreement and taking major field steps to implement what has been agreed upon.”
According to Qassem, Hamas received clear guarantees from Turkiye, Egypt, and Qatar, as well as direct assurances from the United States, that “the war has effectively ended” and that implementing the agreement’s terms “constitutes its full conclusion.”
He added that Hamas had completed the first phase of the agreement by handing over living captives and some remains and was working to deliver the rest.
Regarding the second phase, Qassem said it “requires further discussions and clarifications with mediators,” explaining that “this stage involves broad issues and complex matters that need detailed approaches.”
He stressed that Hamas’ central objective “is to reach a complete and lasting end to the war against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
Qassem also said the movement continues to inform mediators of Israeli violations, noting that Israel has killed 90 Palestinians since the ceasefire took effect and “still keeps the Rafah crossing closed, blocking sufficient aid.”
He accused Israel of using “humanitarian conditions as a political bargaining chip,” something Israel “has practiced for years under the Gaza blockade,” and called for urgent action to allow aid into the Strip and prevent renewed starvation.
The first phase of Trump’s 20-point Gaza ceasefire deal was reached on 10 October.
Phase one includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
Since October 2023, the Israeli genocidal war has killed over 68,200 people and injured more than 170,300, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAOrcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
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A view of makeshift tent clinics set up in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital to treat the growing number of wounded amid Israel’s intensified attacks in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip on October 05, 2025. [Mohammed Nassar – Anadolu Agency]
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that Gaza’s health system has been devastated by Israel’s war on the Palestinian territory, which began on 7 October 2023.
“There are no fully functioning hospitals in Gaza,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warning that “the total cost of rebuilding the Gaza health system will be at least $7 billion.”
The organisation’s chief added that no significant progress has been recorded in the quantities of food allowed to enter since the ceasefire, nor any improvement in reducing hunger among the population.
“The situation still remains catastrophic because what’s entering is not enough,” Ghebreyesus told reporters, adding that, “there is no dent in hunger because there is not enough food.”
He further clarified that hunger has not declined despite the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on 10 October, brokered by the United States between Israel and Hamas.
The WHO’s chief warned that ““The crisis is far from over, and the needs are immense,”confirming that “Although the flow of aid has increased, it is still only a fraction of what’s needed.”
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAOrcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
The prime minister committed to the target in his ‘plan for change’ last year. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
Exclusive: Promise to remove almost all fossil fuels from UK’s electricity supply by 2030 may be quietly abandoned over cost
Ministers are considering dropping one of their central green pledges in an effort to keep energy bills down, sources have told the Guardian.
Government insiders say Keir Starmer is prepared to miss his own target of removing almost all fossil fuels from the UK’s electricity supply by 2030 if doing so proves much more expensive than building gas power instead.
The issue will come to a head within weeks as Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, decides how much renewable energy to commission for the next few years. Allies say Miliband is willing to buy less than experts say is needed to hit the 2030 target, if paying for them would push energy bills much higher than their current levels.
Concern is growing in Downing Street that the cost of living is fuelling the rise of Reform UK, which leads national polls and is predicted to take the Welsh Senedd seat of Caerphilly in a byelection this week.[Hehehehe]
