This World Environment Day, warning signals are everywhere.

The past 11 years have been the 11 hottest on record.

And the damage goes far beyond rising temperatures — from polluted air to degraded land, collapsing ecosystems, and vanishing biodiversity.

Harming health, destroying homes and deepening hunger.

The world is heading for a temporary overshoot above 1.5 degrees.

Every fraction of a degree brings greater harm —  especially to the most vulnerable.

Our task is to make that overshoot as small, as short, and as safe as possible — and rapidly bring temperatures back down.

That means slashing emissions.

Accelerating a just transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewables — the only sustainable path to lower costs and to real energy security.

Cutting methane — one of the fastest, cheapest ways to limit near-term warming.

Protecting forests, land, and seas.

Helping communities adapt to the devastating impacts already here.

And it means fulfilling climate finance promises to developing countries — to save lives, protect livelihoods, and strengthen economies.

This is the moment to act — for our environment and for our future. 

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Despite recent progress, poverty remains a global development emergency, affecting people in every corner of the world. Eight-hundred million women, children and men still live in extreme poverty — from remote rural communities to crowded urban slums.  Their plight is made worse by conflicts, climate change, deepening inequalities, and heavy debt burdens.

Meetings like yours give me hope that solutions are in reach.

Governments must invest in decent work, quality education, health care, resilient rural development and universal social protection.

Developing countries need financing and fiscal space to invest in development.

The Sevilla Commitment reached last year calls for urgent action to unlock more financing, create measures to address the debt burdens of developing countries, and reform an unfair global financial system so developing countries receive the support and representation they deserve.

And last year’s World Social Summit called for stronger social policies and investments that can reduce poverty, inequality and exclusion.

Guided by these global commitments and the solutions discussed at this Forum, we can shape economies that put people first, and continue our fight to reduce — and end — poverty.

(United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ messages on World Environment Day in New York on 5 June 2026 and to the 2026 Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum on 27 May 2026 in Beijing, China.)