‘Stop treating nature like a toilet’: UN chief at COP26 summit

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Glasgow: Underlining concerns over the world`s addiction to fossil fuels and climate change, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday said the world faces a stark choice warning world leaders to stop "treating nature like a toilet".

In his speech at the COP26 World Leaders` Summit here the UN chief told world leaders that "we are digging our own graves by failing to act fast enough on climate change."

Emphasising that the six years since Paris Climate Agreement have been the six hottest years on record, Guterres said that the world`s addiction to fossil fuels is pushing humanity to the brink.

"We face a stark choice - either we stop it or it stops us. It`s time to say, enough," Guterres added.

He emphasised that "enough of brutalising biodiversity, enough of killing ourselves with Carbon, enough of treating nature like a toilet, enough of burning, drilling and mining our way deeper".

Stressing that the world is digging its own graves, Guterres emphasised that "our planet is changing before our eyes".

He emphasised that change is happening everywhere "from the ocean depths to mountain tops from the melting glaciers to relentless extreme weather events."

Underlining that sea-level rise has doubled that it was 30 years ago, Guterres said that oceans are hotter than ever and getting warmer faster.

Stressing that parts of the Amazon rainforest now emits more carbon than they absorb, Guterres said that "recent climate action announcement might give the impression that we are on track to turn things around. This is an illusion."

The COP26 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) kicked off here on Sunday under the Presidency of the UK partnering with Italy. It brings all parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also participating in the event.