‘1.5-degree goal gasping for breath’

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will convene a "no-nonsense" climate ambition summit in September next year and warned that there will be "no room for back-sliders, greenwashers, blame-shifters" or a repackaging of old pledges.

In a wide-ranging news conference to close out 2022, Guterres also said that he "will not relent in the pursuit of peace in Ukraine in line with international law and the United Nations Charter." A key principle of the founding UN Charter is respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He is "not optimistic" about the possibility of effective Ukraine and Russia peace talks in the immediate future and believes the military confrontation will go on, but added that he "strongly hopes" there can be an end to the war in 2023.

On Iran, Guterres slammed as "totally unacceptable" a crackdown by authorities on protests over the death of a young woman in custody and said "we are witnessing massive violations of human rights that we strongly condemn."

Guterres expressed concern about the fate of a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians and "what the next Israeli government might do in that regard."

"It's very important that the whole of the international community be very clear explaining to the government in Israel that there is no alternative to the two-state solution and that no unilateral actions should be taken putting into question the two-state solution," he said.

Combating climate change has been a key priority for Guterres, who is one year into his second five-year term. He said he will keep pushing for a climate solidarity pact that would require big emitters to make an extra effort to reduce emissions this decade and ensure support for those who need it.

Countries are under pressure to ensure emissions are cut in half by 2030 and down to net-zero by 2050 - the only path to holding global warming to within 1.5 degrees Celsius.

"The 1.5-degree goal is gasping for breath," Guterres said. "I will convene a climate ambition summit in September 2023. I call on every leader to step up."

"The invitation is open," he said. "But there is a price of entry and the price of entry is non-negotiable - credible, serious and new climate action and nature-based solutions that will move the needle forward and respond to the urgency of the climate crisis."

His comments came after countries reached a historic deal to reverse decades of environmental destruction threatening the world's species and ecosystems.

After the marathon COP 15 biodiversity summit in Montreal ran into the small hours, chair Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu, declared the deal adopted and banged his gavel, sparking loud applause.

After four years of fraught negotiations, more than 190 other states rallied behind the Chinese-brokered accord aimed at saving Earth's lands, oceans and species from pollution, degradation and the climate crisis.

The cornerstone of the agreement is the so-called 30 by 30 goal -- a pledge to protect 30 percent of the world's land and seas by 2030 -- up from about 17 percent of land and seven percent of oceans currently.

Indigenous rights were addressed throughout the text, including in areas covered by the 30 by 30 pledge -- safeguarding Indigenous peoples' right to remain stewards of land they use and ensuring they are not subject to evictions in the name of conservation.

The text approves the objective for rich countries to provide "at least US$20 billion per year by 2025, and ... at least US$30 billion per year by 2030," approximately double and then triple the current international aid for biodiversity.