United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has issued a sharp warning against the rise of climate disinformation, calling on the world to “fight back” against false narratives undermining scientific consensus on global warming.
Speaking at the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva on Wednesday, Guterres defended climate science as “clear-eyed and indispensable,” urging governments, tech platforms, and institutions to take stronger action against greenwashing, online misinformation, and political denialism.
“We must fight mis- and disinformation, online harassment, and greenwashing. Scientists and researchers should never fear telling the truth,” Guterres said.
His remarks come just weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” during his United Nations address in New York — a statement that reignited global debate over environmental policy and fossil fuel dependency.
Guterres’s comments were widely seen as a direct rebuttal to Trump’s renewed attacks on renewable energy, which the American president described as “a joke” and “too expensive.” Trump’s administration has recently scrapped clean energy tax credits and expanded fossil fuel investments.
‘Planet on the brink’
Countering Trump’s claims, Guterres stressed that renewable energy now accounts for nearly all new global power capacity, citing record-breaking investments in solar and wind technologies.
“Renewables are the cheapest, fastest and smartest source of new power,” he said. “They represent the only credible path to end the relentless destruction of our climate.”
Marking the WMO’s 75th anniversary, Guterres warned that global warming is pushing the planet to the brink, with the last ten years being the hottest on record.
“Ocean heat is breaking records while decimating ecosystems. Fires, floods, storms, and heatwaves are now the new normal — and the poorest nations pay the highest price,” he said.
Call to action before COP30
Looking ahead to the COP30 climate summit scheduled for Belem, Brazil, from November 10–21, Guterres urged world leaders to present ambitious national climate action plans aligned with the 1.5°C global temperature limit.
“By November’s UN Climate Conference in Brazil, countries must deliver bold new national climate action plans that include commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade,” he said.
“Much greater ambition is required,” Guterres added, warning that half-measures could spell irreversible damage to the planet.
