UN chief makes final push at COP27

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (Front) speaks during a press briefing at the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Nov. 17 2022. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

"As the negotiations draw to a close, the secretary-general urged parties to aim for maximum ambition on loss and damage and in reduction of emissions," a UN spokesman said.

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is pushing for bold climate action as the UN Climate Change Conference in Egypt (COP27) is drawing to a conclusion, said a UN spokesman on Friday.

Guterres earlier Friday met separately with member states of the European Union, members of the Group of 77 and China, European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, and China's special climate envoy Xie Zhenhua in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for Guterres.

"As the negotiations draw to a close, the secretary-general urged parties to aim for maximum ambition on loss and damage and in reduction of emissions," he said, adding that the secretary-general will continue intensive consultations with parties over the course of the day.

"He is pushing the parties. Ultimately, we need governments themselves to go the extra mile, and that is what he's been encouraging," said Haq.

"The secretary-general has made clear what the needs are, what the baseline needs of the international community are," he said. "There's a level at which we need to make sure that the planet that we live on will continue to be liveable, and that is something that has a certain baseline expectation. But certainly, this agreement, like all, will be the result of compromise, and we hope that that compromise will still result in the strongest possible affirmation of our efforts to put a halt to global warming."

Guterres on Thursday asked the parties at COP27 to stop finger-pointing.

"This is no time for finger-pointing. The blame game is a recipe for mutually assured destruction," he warned at a press briefing in Sharm El-Sheikh.

The UN chief called on the parties to act in three critical areas: to respond to loss and damage, to close the emissions gap, and to deliver on climate finance.