The UN Secretary General appealed on Monday to world leaders who will meet in a few days at COP28 to break the “deadly cycle” of global warming and its devastating consequences, AFP reports.

“We are in a deadly cycle,” António Guterres told the media after returning from a trip to Antarctica, “a sleeping giant (…) awakened by climate chaos.”

“Ice reflects the sun’s rays. When it disappears, the Earth’s atmosphere absorbs more heat. This means more warming, which means more storms, floods, fires and droughts around the world. And more melting, which means even more warming,” he said.

“At COP28, which starts at the end of the week, leaders must break this cycle,” he insisted.

“What happens in Antarctica does not stay in Antarctica. We live in an interconnected world,” he added, referring to the effects of Antarctic ice loss on sea level rise and the dangers to coastal cities and communities around the world.

Antarctica has already experienced accelerated ice loss in recent decades, and scientists believe the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which holds enough water to raise sea levels by several meters, may be approaching a climate “tipping point”.

“Leaders must not allow the hopes of people around the world for a sustainable planet to be dashed. They must take COP28 into account,” Antonio Guterres insisted, again calling for an end to the “fossil fuel era”.

“The solutions are well known,” he stressed, urging leaders to act to “protect people from climate chaos.”

“We need a global commitment to triple renewables, double energy efficiency and provide clean energy for all by 2030,” the official said.

“We need a clear and credible commitment to phase out fossil fuels by the 1.5°C agreed deadline,” he added, referring to the Paris Agreement’s most ambitious goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C.

“And we need climate justice” with “significantly increased investments for adaptation and for losses and damages to protect populations from climate extremes,” he insisted.

COP28 opens in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday with two major battles on the agenda: finance and fossil fuels, the massive use of which is pushing humanity towards new climate abysses.