1.5°C Is Blown: Put People Before Polluters

The United Nations Secretary-General just said the quiet part out loud: the world is going to overshoot 1.5°C. António Guterres calls it “inevitable”, warns of “devastating consequences”, and urges leaders heading to COP30 in Brazil to change course fast so the overshoot is as short and shallow as possible. That means slashing emissions now, not in the next election cycle. And it means fixing who gets heard. He’s blunt: while the lobbyists are there to protect profits, the price is being paid by humanity. Civil society and, crucially, Indigenous voices must be front and centre.

The numbers explain his candour. Fewer than a third of countries have even submitted their 2035 plans. On current pledges, global emissions will fall by only 10% by 2035 - over 60% is needed to stay near 1.5°C! That gap isn’t a rounding error; it’s a moral failing measured in flooded homes, dead reefs and lost Country.

Credit to The Guardian for this important interview which was co-reported with Sumaúma by Wajã Xipai, the first Indigenous journalist to interview the UN chief on this. Please read it and watch the short video; it’s clear, sobering and, if we choose, galvanising.

Here’s the good news: what António Guterres is calling for already has a home. AlterCOP is about citizens and First Nations leadership shaping climate action. Not as tokens or decorations, but as real decision-makers. It’s how we rebalance power, centre knowledge that actually protects nature, and build a safe, prosperous future that doesn’t leave anyone behind.

As guest speaker at the opening of AlterCOP Australia on 17 November, I’ll be sharing how Australia’s First Nations peoples are already leading solutions. And next week I’ll start riding my #eBike4Australia to get there. Because showing up matters, and so does how we travel. If 1.5°C is blown, then the only acceptable response is people power over polluters, and action over alibis.

See you at AlterCOP.

You can attend online or IRL. Tickets are free. Get them here.