Cop27 climate summit: UN secretary general Antonio Guterres says ‘toxic coverup’ could push world over ‘climate cliff’

A UN group has set up a series of red line recommendations for Australia and other OECD nations to end coal, oil and gas production, ban new fossil fuel exploration and end financing of fossil fuels within eight years.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a UN expert panel at the COP27 climate conference at the Sharm el-Sheikh International Convention Centre, in Egypt.

A United Nations “high level expert” group has set up a series of red line recommendations for Australia and other OECD countries to end coal, oil and gas production, ban new fossil fuel exploration and end financing of fossil fuels within the next eight years.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres also warned fossil fuel companies which had been covering up their polluting actions by encouraging their suppliers or other entities to account for carbon emissions, including the heavy use of carbon offsets, that “this toxic coverup could push our world over the climate cliff’’.

Mr Guterres said bogus net zero pledges covering up massive fossil fuel expansion was reprehensible warning: “The sham must end”.

Canada’s former climate minister Catherine McKenna, who leads the expert group, said at the Cop27 conference in Sharm el-Sheikh that net zero was “about cutting emissions, not corners”, and added, “right now, the planet cannot afford delays, excuses, or more greenwashing’’.

Ms McKenna’s group, which included Australia’s chief executive of Climate Analytics, Bill Hare, said no-one could ignore the need to “immediately and drastically cut emissions”.

Mr Hare told the conference: “If industry, financial institutions, cities and regions mean what they say in their net zero pledges, they will adopt these recommendations. If fossil fuel companies think that they can expand production under a net zero target, they need to think again.”

The group wants to end coal for power generation, ban any expansion of coal reserves or development of new coal mines by 2030 for OECD countries and 2040 for the rest of the world.

In their report, the group calls for the an immediate end of financial lending, underwriting and investments in any company planning new coal power plants and mines, and that all financial exposure, including of passive funds should be withdrawn by 2030.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres shakes hands with the chair of the United Nations Secretary-General's High-level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments, Catherine McKenna, during a UN expert panel at the COP27 climate conference.

There were similar calls by the group to ban oil and gas production, exploration and any expansion, including that new fossil fuel-based electricity generation should not be permitted.

On methane, the group wants emissions from the energy sector - coal, oil and gas production - to by cut by at least 64 per cent by 2030 from 2020 levels.

Ms McKenna said these immediate deep cuts to carbon emissions with serious commitments are required before 2030 to keep to the net zero commitments.

The report also called for stricter rules around the use of carbon offsets to ensure the offsets were “high-quality and came from a reliable and verifiable source’’ and didn’t just allow governments and companies to continue any current polluting practices.