Security, sacrifice or opportunity: Visions differ over effective climate action

Should the world move away sharply from fossil fuels, or manage a slower, more careful retreat? That question underpinned many of the speeches from global leaders at this year's High-level Week General Debate in New York, as climate change emerged as one of the defining fault lines dividing Member States.UN News reviewed some of the key speeches to assess where those divisions are.Leaders offered sometimes very different visions of what action should look like – from Pacific nations demanding a rapid move away from fossil fuels to energy producers stressing security, affordability and a more gradual transition.Who, what, whenAcross the statements, the main points of division were about how fast energy systems should change, what role fossil fuels should continue to play, and who should shoulder the cost of both the transition and the damage already being inflicted.UN Secretary-General António Guterres – who made climate a central theme to this year’s High-level Week – opened the General Debate by calling for immediate action. “A future beyond fossil fuels is in sight. The question is how?” he said, urging governments to adopt national plans to transition away from fossil fuels, wit...