THE DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL -- REMARKS AT LEADERS’ ROUNDTABLE SESSION II: MAKING 2025 THE TIPPING POINT TO PRESERVE GLACIERS WITH 1.5C – CONSISTENT NDCs AT COP30

Chairman of the Committee for Environmental Protection, Mr. Bahodur Sheralizoda,

 

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Good afternoon and welcome to this distinguished group of delegated. It is especially important to see so many Ministers of Environment around the table, to which I belonged when I was Minister of Environment in Nigeria. It is great to see all of you here.

 

This morning, we heard the devastating impact of global warming on glaciers and related eco-systems. We all agree that 2025 must be the tipping point - not towards their collapse - but towards preservation.

 

We enter the second half of this decisive decade with a sobering truth: the world is not on track to meet the SDGs nor limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

 

I saw this first hand flying over the Fedchenko glaciers yesterday, and we also heard this play out with destructive force as a Glacier collapsed in the Swiss Alps last week.

 

We are already seeing 1.2 degrees of warming—and with it, record-breaking heatwaves, rising seas, vanishing glaciers, and intensifying storms. The WMO last week projected a 70% chance that the average temperature across the next 5 years will be above 1.5 degrees Celcius.

 

Glaciers, which sustain over two billion people with freshwater, are often among the first casualties of a heating planet. Their disappearance is not a distant threat – it is a lived reality for many today from around the world, as we heard this morning.

 

And we know that every tenth of a degree matters. The difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees is the difference between preservation and irreversible loss of ecosystems, food systems, water security, and for some, national existence.

 

Alarmingly, our mountain ecosystems are warming at twice the global average, triggering the fastest glacier retreat in recorded history.

 

And yet, the global response remains deeply inadequate. Despite progress made under the landmark Paris Agreement – signed in hope and grounded in science – temperatures still continue to rise.

 

The Paris Agreement still remains our North Star. It reflects a global consensus that we must limit global warming to well below 2 degrees—and we strive for 1.5.

 

But whilst we must be honest about the current context – we must also see the opportunities.

 

Around the world, we are seeing growing pushback against climate ambition:

 

Calls to delay action in the name of economic growth.

 

Fossil fuel interests distorting facts and sowing doubt.

 

Political cycles undermining long-term commitments.

 

In this environment, leadership is not the absence of resistance. It is the ability to act despite it.

 

It is time to translate our climate promises into policy—and policy into progress.

 

To preserve our glaciers and secure a livable future, I urge world leaders to prioritize three critical areas—each requiring not only technical solutions but sustained political will.

 

First, the 2035 NDCs, as we just heard from the Chairman, are our most immediate lever to alter our trajectory. They must represent a radical upgrade in ambition and credibility.

 

And so we are calling on all governments – particularly major emitters – to:

 

Submit enhanced NDCs aligned with science-based pathways to 1.5 degrees.

 

Integrate the guidance from the UAE consensus to triple renewable energy, double energy efficiency, and transition away from fossil fuels

 

Include transition roadmaps with policies that support workers and communities.

 

And we hope to being able to seize the benefits of the clean energy transition.

 

There is no alternative. The cost of inaction is incalculable.

 

Second, finance is the foundation of climate action. Without it, ambition will not be achieved.

 

We urge governments and financial institutions to:

 

Fulfil the New climate finance goal agreed in Baku.

 

Mobilize private capital in clean energy and adaptation and de-risking investment for development countries, will be essential.

 

Support climate-vulnerable countries—particularly glacier-dependent nations—with grants and concessional finance.

 

We also call for a reform of international financial institutions to make access faster, fairer, and more inclusive.

 

No country should be denied protection from climate chaos because of lack of liquidity or credit rating.

 

And third, preserving glaciers must move from the periphery to the core of global climate strategy.

 

I urge to strengthen coordination on sciences, funding, and policy action for glaciers’ preservation.

 

Investing in early warning systems, glacial monitoring, and local adaptation strategies in mountainous regions.

 

Recognize of indigenous and community-led knowledge in shaping responses.

 

The melting of glaciers is not only a symptom – it is a signal and if we fail to act, these warning signs will become tipping points.

 

Excellencies,

 

We understand the pressures leaders face. The path to 1.5 degrees is narrow. The politics are hard. But the science and economics are unequivocal – and the consequences of delay are intolerable.

 

We must be clear-eyed: preserving glaciers is not a niche issue. It is central to global water security, disaster resilience, and planetary stability. It is also about equity, it is about intergenerational justice, and about defending the rights of the most vulnerable.

 

Let us reject false choices between economic development and environmental protection. The technologies, the solutions, and the resources do exist. What is needed is the political will to deploy them—urgently and at scale.

 

Let 2025 be remembered as the year the world turned the tide.

 

Not with declarations alone, but with real decisions.

Not by defending the status quo, but by defining a new trajectory.

 

I believe if we choose to act—with honesty, urgency, and solidarity—then even at this late hour, the story of glacier loss can still be a story of human resilience.

 

The ice is melting. The window is closing.

But the future is still ours to shape.

 

Thank you.

 

 

*****

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