The UN Secretary-General said the "time has come for serious discussion" about climate change and to take "meaningful action" against the damage already being done, particularly in developing countries.

António Guterres was speaking Wednesday during a meeting with several leaders from developed and developing countries, including President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi of Egypt, the country that will host the UN climate change conference COP27 in November.

"The time has come to have serious discussion and meaningful action on this issue," Guterres insisted.

"My messages were clear. About the climate emergency: the goal of another 1.5°C [degrees Celsius] is tied to the fan. And failing fast," said the Portuguese.

In a reference to the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era, set in the Paris Agreement in 2015, Guterres warned that the world is "heading" toward 3°C warming.

The UN leader called on governments to tackle "four urgent problems" head-on between now and COP27: setting more ambitious emissions reduction targets, helping the most vulnerable countries, adapting and seeking funding for impacts, and dealing with "loss and damage."

This last point, a crucial element in the climate negotiations, concerns the damage already caused by the multiplication of extreme weather events, for which developing countries are demanding compensation from richer states.

"I hope that COP27 in Egypt will address" the issue, the UN secretary-general added, arguing that it is a matter of "climate justice, international solidarity and confidence building."

At the previous UN climate change conference, COP26 in Glasgow in late 2021, rich countries rejected demands by developing states for specific funding to compensate for the losses and damage already caused.

This week, a group of developing countries meeting in Dakar made the same demand again, calling for the creation of a "financing mechanism" to deal with the damage caused by climate change.

Another target set in Paris in 205 was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030.

At Wednesday's meeting, António Guterres, quoted by Lusa, urged the G20 leaders to end their dependence on fossil fuels.

"The fossil fuel industry is killing us and the leaders are not in tune with the citizens," warned the UN leader, who called for "the elimination of existing coal and support for the renewable energy revolution."