UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned of the ongoing sea level rise, emphasising the urgent need to protect humanity from the devastating consequences of this crisis, which threatens to destroy nations and communities.

These remarks were made during the opening of the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on addressing the existential threats posed by sea level rise.

The Secretary-General highlighted scientific findings indicating that the global sea level is now rising faster than at any time in the last 3,000 years and accelerating — the rate of increase has more than doubled since the 1990s.

The UN Secretary-General stressed that the fate of this issue lies in the hands of world leaders, whose choices will determine the scale, pace and impact of future sea level rise.

Guterres explained that low-lying coastal areas are home to nearly 900 million people, and rising sea levels will lead to widespread misery. This includes more intense storms, coastal erosion, coastal flooding, submersion of communities, contamination of freshwater, crop destruction, infrastructure damage, and the destruction of biodiversity and economies, with sectors such as fisheries, agriculture, and tourism being particularly hard hit.

Highlighting that the poorest and most vulnerable are the hardest hit, he noted that entire islands have been lost, and coastal communities have been destroyed as land has become uninhabitable and uninsurable.

The Secretary-General emphasised, “Only drastic action to reduce emissions can limit sea level rise. And only drastic action to adapt can keep people safe from rising waters.”

He called on the G20 to lead the way and align their fossil fuel production and consumption plans with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Guterres added, “We need a strong finance outcome at COP29 this year — including on new and innovative sources of capital.”