This year has been a masterclass in climate destruction with disasters around the world being supercharged by human-made climate change, UN secretary general António Guterres told world leaders at the Cop29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Tuesday (12 November).

“Families running for their lives before the next hurricane strikes; Workers and pilgrims collapsing in insufferable heat; Floods tearing through communities, and tearing down infrastructure; Children going to bed hungry as droughts ravage crops. All these disasters, and more, are being supercharged by human-made climate change,” Guterres told the conference, where the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is hoping for an agreement on the pressing need for increased climate finance, including for new nuclear power plants.

“No country is spared,” Guterres emphasised, with global supply chain shocks sending prices soaring for everyone. “Unless emissions plummet and adaptation soars, every economy will face far greater fury.”

“But there is every reason to hope,” Guterres said, with nations having already pledged to transition away from fossil fuels at last year’s Cop28. “It’s time to deliver and humanity is behind you.”