UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the opening of the COP27 climate conference in Egypt that the world was on the “highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.”

Mr Guterres said the world was fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos “irreversible.”

“Climate change is on a different timeline, and a different scale,” he said. “It is the defining issue of our age… It is unacceptable, outrageous and self-defeating to put it on the back burner.”

All countries could make additional efforts to reduce emissions this decade in line with the goal of keeping global warming at 1.5 degrees, he added.

Besides, richer countries and international financial institutions would provide financial and technical assistance to help developing countries accelerate the transition to renewable energy.