The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) said today that renewable energies are "the only credible way" to avoid a climate catastrophe, before the assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi.

Only renewable energies can safeguard our future, bridge the energy access gap, stabilize prices and guarantee energy security," said António Guterres in the United Arab Emirates.

At the beginning of January, in Lisbon, the UN leader had stressed that "the possibility of maintaining global temperature growth limited to 1.5 [degrees Celsius] is on the verge of being lost, and irreversibly".

"With current policies, we are heading for 2.8 degrees of global warming by the end of the century. The consequences will be devastating. Many parts of our planet will become uninhabitable. And for many, this is a death sentence," Guterres added today.

According to United Nations data, renewable energies currently account for 30% of the world's electricity generation, a percentage that is expected to double and exceed 60% by 2030.

The former Portuguese prime minister defended the need to remove intellectual property barriers so that key renewable technologies, including energy storage, are treated as "global public goods".

In addition, the UN Secretary-General urged countries to diversify and enable access to supply chains for raw materials and components for renewable energy sources.

"This can help create millions of green jobs, especially for women and young people in the developing world," said Guterres.

Finally, the Secretary General called on political leaders to speed up the approval of sustainable projects and stressed the importance of subsidies for energy companies, as well as public and private investment, in order to complete the energy transition. (Lusa)