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By Sharon Kimathi, Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital

Hello,

Today’s newsletter focuses on the sharp words the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres had for the fossil fuel industry amid another year of record-breaking temperatures across the world.

Guterres said that countries must confront not just the fossil-fuel industry, but also companies that support efforts to obstruct climate action.

The U.N. chief, a longtime critic of oil and gas companies’ role in fueling climate change, called the industry out for spending billions on “distorting the truth, deceiving the public, and sowing doubt” about climate change, while investing just “a measly 2.5%” of its total capital on clean energy alternatives.

He went further in a speech at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, criticizing financial institutions as well as media and public relations firms for supporting the industry’s advertisements and accepting content sponsorships.

“I call on these companies to stop acting as enablers to planetary destruction,” Guterres said in prepared remarks. “Stop taking on new fossil-fuel clients, from today, and set out plans to drop your existing ones.”

Also on my radar today:

Cracks are seen in the dried up municipal dam in drought-stricken Graaff-Reinet, South Africa. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo

Guterres also called for urgent action to avert “climate hell” following a report from the EU’s climate change monitoring service which said that each of the past 12 months ranked as the warmest on record in year-on-year comparisons.

The average global temperature for the 12-month period to the end of May was 1.63 degrees Celsius (2.9 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial average – making it the warmest such period since record-keeping began in 1940, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said.

This 12-month average does not mean that the world has yet surpassed the 1.5 C (2.7 F) global warming threshold, which describes a temperature average over decades, beyond which scientists warn of more extreme and irreversible impacts.

In a separate report, the U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said there was now an 80% chance that at least one of the next five years will mark the first calendar year with an average temperature that temporarily exceeds 1.5C above pre-industrial levels – up from a 66% chance last year.

Speaking about the findings, Guterres emphasized how quickly the world was heading in the wrong direction and away from stabilizing its climate system.

“In 2015, the chance of such a breach was near zero,” Guterres said in a speech marking World Environment Day. With time running out to reverse course, Guterres urged a 30% cut in global fossil fuel production and use by 2030.

Carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels – the main cause of climate change – hit a record high last year despite global agreements designed to curb their release and a rapid expansion in renewable energy.

Coal, oil and gas still provide more than three quarters of the world’s energy, with global oil demand remaining strong.

The latest climate data show that the world is “way off track” from its goal of limiting warming to 1.5 C – the key target of the world’s 2015 Paris Accord, WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett said.

In fact, a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) released this week found that countries’ climate plans are not yet in line with a goal to triple renewable energy capacity worldwide by 2030, which was a goal that was set at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai last year.

Dr Mustafa Al-Abbasi, left, pictured with Dr Abdul Qadir Hammad, a British kidney transplant surgeon visiting Gaza since 2012. Dr. Al-Abbasi was killed on Nov.16 in an airstrike in Gaza.

Estelle Willie, director of health policy and communications at the American private foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, shares her thoughts on impact of rising temperatures on health:

“Climate change is a threat multiplier for health, exacerbating inequalities and unraveling decades of progress in the health sector. 

“The escalating threat of extreme heat endangers billions globally. 

“Last year, 76 heatwaves spanned 90 countries, with heat stress deaths in India surging by 50%, highlighting the urgent need for intervention. 

“We are at a pivotal moment to address the climate-health crisis head on, but it will take cross-sector collaboration, unlikely partnerships, and political will to ensure that the estimated 3.3 billion people impacted by climate hazards will be able to not only survive but thrive.

“Last week’s outcomes at the World Health Assembly are a testament to how the health sector is prioritizing this threat.

“We see immense potential to save lives by addressing heat impacts.

“Partnerships like the World Health Organization-World Meteorological Organization joint office for Climate and Health exemplify this impact. 

“Their Global Heat Health Information Network for example is integrating climate data into health systems, protecting human health against climate change and extreme weather events.”

Hafsa Sead, 21, member of the Hargeisa Basketball Girls team dribbles a ball during the Independence Day eve celebrations in Hargeisa, Somaliland. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

Today’s spotlight shines a light on social initiatives led by women from the Horn of Africa to South America.

Wrapped in the tricolor flag of her homeland, 21-year old captain Hafsa Omer bounces the basketball between her legs, dribbles, lays it up off the backboard, and watches it clatter into the hoop.

Her dream is to one day play for her nation, but there is a catch – Somaliland is not a country.

The breakaway territory has struggled to gain international recognition from any foreign government, despite governing itself and enjoying comparative peace and stability since declaring independence in 1991.

Omer and her two sisters, who also play for Hargeisa Girls Basketball, the first all-girls team in the incipient country, are determined to put Somaliland on the map, by mobilizing their more than 10,000 followers on social media.

Members of Matter of Trust Chile place a tube-like device made from human hair to clean waterways in Laguna Verde area, Chile. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

Over in Chile, Luisana Gil, a dog groomer in Santiago, Chile, has a lot of hair on her hands – she throws away bags and bags of her clients’ hair, which until recently went straight to the landfill.

Now Gil is connecting her discarded pet hair with Matter of Trust Chile, a group that uses human and animal hair to make tools that leverage hair’s natural absorbent qualities to clean local waterways of oils, heavy metals and even bacteria.

Matter of Trust’s project, Petropelo, employs tube-like booms – made out of mesh and filled with hair – to attract and trap oil in lakes, streams, coasts and other waterways. Click here for the Reuters photo-led feature.

Today’s Sustainable Switch was edited by Emelia Sithole-Matarise.

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