Heads of state and government gathering for the climate conference in Glasgow will argue over plans to burn fewer fossil fuels, the only way to honor their pledges to protect the planet.
World leaders meeting at a United Nations climate conference starting on Sunday have failed to set policies that would keep global warming "well below" 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels — in continuing defiance of promises they made at a summit in Paris six years earlier.
"The time has passed for diplomatic niceties," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a tweet ahead of a meeting of the G20 group of big economies at the weekend.
"If all governments — especially G20 governments — do not stand up and lead efforts against the climate crisis, we are headed for terrible human suffering."
