'Subsidizing suicide': UN chief calls on governments to end fossil fuel subsidies

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres compared fossil fuel subsidies to "subsidizing suicide" Friday, calling on governments worldwide to stop funding the industry. The remarks came amid criticism that vast amounts of public money continue to flow into nature-harming activities despite international pledges to reduce such subsidies.

Guterres made the comments in a speech to Armenian leaders Friday (local time), according to AFP. He criticized governments for still "spending money in the wrong places" and urged an immediate end to fossil fuel subsidies.

"Fossil fuels are boiling our planet and are a disaster for biodiversity," Guterres said. "I call on every government in the world to completely end these subsidies and use that money instead for people and the planet."

The international community has already agreed to reduce subsidies that drive nature destruction. At the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), held in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022, countries pledged to cut or redirect government subsidies for nature-harming activities — including fossil fuels, intensive agriculture and mining — by at least $500 billion annually by 2030.

Yet criticism has persisted that trillions of dollars in government subsidies and public financing continue to fund activities harmful to biodiversity. According to the UN, for every $1 invested in protecting or restoring nature, roughly $30 goes toward activities that destroy it.

Securing financing for nature conservation is expected to be a central issue at the Convention on Biological Diversity conference of the parties, which opens Monday in Yerevan, Armenia. How countries plan to redirect relevant financial flows will be a key topic of discussion, given the persistent shortfall in funding for nature protection.